West Michigan Advisors LLC Has $1.70 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APD. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $316.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued 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%. Research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.