Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 1,125 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on APD. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.65.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD opened at $292.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $65.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $313.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (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%. Analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

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.