Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up about 1.7% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $19,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $311.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $69.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.65. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. 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 posted 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend 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.