Corient Private Wealth LLC Lowers Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Corient Private Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 409,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,196 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned about 0.18% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $118,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $291.82 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.12. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $64.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G 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.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 41.58%.

Insider Transactions 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, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

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.