Jacobi Capital Management LLC Acquires 145 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APD. 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 boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after buying an additional 721,671 shares in the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $163,013,000. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth approximately $159,886,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on APD shares. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3 %

APD opened at $316.55 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $310.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.74. The firm has a market cap of $70.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.