Mystic Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 68.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a 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 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $291.56 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $312.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.34. 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 company has a market cap of $64.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current 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 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 an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.