Norges Bank Makes New $919.72 Million Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,171,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,721,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.43% of Air Products and Chemicals as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after buying an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,734,000 after acquiring an additional 30,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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. StockNews.com lowered 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 objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $295.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G 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 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $312.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.82.

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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Air Products and Chemicals’s 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.