Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,049 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.07% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $43,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.0% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 19.5% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,947 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.6% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 16,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,769,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.65.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total transaction of $745,966.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,172,411.90. This trade represents a 19.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of APD opened at $291.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.69. The company has a market capitalization of $64.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.53 and a 1-year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.