CFO4Life Group LLC Acquires 38 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 16.7% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 179.7% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 3,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,252,000 after buying an additional 4,379 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 606,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $180,567,000 after buying an additional 2,413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $294.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.71. The firm has a market cap of $65.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.53 and a 12-month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

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.