Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Has $488,000 Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $311.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $310.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.65. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.53 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $69.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.58%.

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.