Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by HFR Wealth Management LLC

HFR Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 2.6% of HFR Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. HFR Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $10,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 30,888 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after acquiring an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after acquiring an additional 19,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $371,920,000 after acquiring an additional 14,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.53.

Insider Transactions 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 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 directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $310.31 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $310.34 and a 200 day moving average of $306.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.58%.

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.