LGT Group Foundation Has $1.54 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

LGT Group Foundation boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% in the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several research reports. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE APD opened at $310.31 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $310.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Equities analysts expect 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders 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 is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

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.