Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $371,920,000 after purchasing an additional 14,077 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD opened at $310.31 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.41.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.79 dividend. 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. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.