Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Sells 33 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $316.74 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.26 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $308.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.37.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.