National Pension Service Increases Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 470,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,610 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $136,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after acquiring an additional 30,888 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after buying an additional 19,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $371,920,000 after buying an additional 14,077 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $313.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $309.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.39. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.11%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.