Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,910 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on APD shares. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $294.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $65.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 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.