Wilbur Mok Sells 1,300 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $313.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $226.95 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $69.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in shares of 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 worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.