3,427 Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $994,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.3 %

APD stock opened at $312.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.53 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.45. The company has a market capitalization of $69.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.