Wambolt & Associates LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Wambolt & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Florida Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APD. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays raised 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 report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.0 %

APD opened at $293.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $312.75 and its 200-day moving average is $309.01. The company has a market capitalization of $65.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. 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 quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced 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%. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Company 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.