First Merchants Corp Invests $205,000 in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

First Merchants Corp purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $316.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $308.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.26 and a 12-month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released 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%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % 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 valued at $3,030,032. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

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.