Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 104,737 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 104,737 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $193,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after acquiring an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after acquiring an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,138,000,000 after purchasing an additional 715,686 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 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, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $316.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.26 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.65. 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 (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.