Patten & Patten Inc. TN Raises Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,957 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $163,013,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $159,886,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,307,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,165,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $350,139,000 after acquiring an additional 234,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.65.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $291.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $64.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.12. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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%. 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 firm 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. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.58%.

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.