Kanawha Capital Management LLC Purchases 499 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,269,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,607,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $315.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.30 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $308.56 and its 200 day moving average is $302.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. 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 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.