Maple Capital Management Inc. Has $19.81 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up about 1.5% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $19,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 4th 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 increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position 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 worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, 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 value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total value of $745,966.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,172,411.90. This trade represents a 19.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $316.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $310.00 and a 200 day moving average of $305.74. 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 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. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. 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. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.