Wolverine Asset Management LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position 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 worth $555,967,000 after acquiring an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,343,000 after acquiring an additional 19,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $371,920,000 after acquiring an additional 14,077 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $310.02 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.10 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $304.66. The stock has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.85.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. 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. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % 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 Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.