Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Bought by Amundi

Amundi boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,270,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,496 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.57% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $362,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after acquiring an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,488,000 after buying an additional 139,223 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after buying an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,921,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.53.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $316.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $311.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.21. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

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

Air Products and Chemicals 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.