Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,649 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,649 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $15,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,057,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $312.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $309.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.45. 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 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $69.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 3.07 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

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.