Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 5,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 7,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $3,724,000. Finally, Core Alternative Capital increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 24,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,138,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $309.50 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.30 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $68.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $309.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.