Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 207,404 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.66% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $6,231,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 308,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,802,000 after buying an additional 3,901 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.2% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,085,000 after buying an additional 5,854 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.7% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.5% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 15,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,616,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 140,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,840,000 after buying an additional 7,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03 % decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.5 %

APD opened at $291.35 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 is 41.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APD. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals 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 upped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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.com, the company currently has an average 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.