Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sabal Trust CO grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 470,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $136,537,000 after buying an additional 34,610 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 3,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 1,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 14,273 shares in the company, 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 sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of APD opened at $313.79 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.39. The stock has a market cap of $69.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.