HUB Investment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,531 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

HUB Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 32,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $42,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 39.6% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 308,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,802,000 after acquiring an additional 3,901 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $291.35 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $313.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.22. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.58%.

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.