Empowered Funds LLC Increases Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 87.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Exane Asset Management purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $8,796,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ledyard National Bank raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $315.30 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.30 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 over the last 90 days. 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.