Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,601 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’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 approximately $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $291.35 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $313.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, equities 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 company 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. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

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.