Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Position Reduced by Titleist Asset Management LLC

Titleist Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the third quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 15,148 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.9% during the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 72,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,437,000 after buying an additional 4,317 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 7.0 %

APD opened at $263.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $308.14 and a 200-day moving average of $309.39. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. 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 (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America cut 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.88.

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.