Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $17.93 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $17,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $885,371,000. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after acquiring an additional 723,019 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after acquiring an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at $163,013,000. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at $159,886,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $294.70 on Thursday. 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 moving average of $312.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.71. The company has a market capitalization of $65.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.53.

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.