Saturna Capital Corp Has $32.18 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Saturna Capital Corp boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 110,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $32,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 16.7% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% during the third quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 179.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 3,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,252,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $298.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $312.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.80. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 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. 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. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.