Morton Community Bank Has $2.87 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Morton Community Bank boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $316.76 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $311.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.43. 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 current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. 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 currently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.