Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 839 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after acquiring an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03 % 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 Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.0 %

APD stock opened at $295.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $312.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.82.

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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change 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 2.42%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.