First American Bank Buys 350 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

First American Bank raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. First American Bank’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APD. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set 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, StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $312.83 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.45. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $69.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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 (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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.11%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by 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.