Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 44.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in 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. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $371,920,000 after buying an additional 14,077 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report 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 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $316.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $308.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.26 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 presently 41.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals 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 value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.