Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after acquiring an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,440,000 after acquiring an additional 35,479 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.7 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $298.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.80. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month 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.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid 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 2.40%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.