Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 60,333 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $57,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after buying an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 9,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,704,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,845,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of APD opened at $294.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $313.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. 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%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on APD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of 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. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % 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 corporate insiders.

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.