LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Buys 137 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 227,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,119,000 after acquiring an additional 12,209 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 65.8% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,026,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $272.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $60.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.89. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $296.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.49.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on APD. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $338.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.