Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 413,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,869 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $119,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APD. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after purchasing an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after purchasing an additional 722,132 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,138,000,000 after purchasing an additional 715,686 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on APD. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America lowered shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $316.74 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.10. The company has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. 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 2.26%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

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.