Beacon Financial Group Sells 456 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Beacon Financial Group cut its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 456 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $105,000. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 71,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,200,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.3 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $309.50 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.30 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $68.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

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 predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 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. Investors 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 2.31%. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is 41.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.