Trust Co. of Vermont Decreases Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 47,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 565 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 3,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 13,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 12,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,543,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

APD stock traded up $5.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $317.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,315,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 855,050. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $337.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.84.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.