Melissa N. Schaeffer Sells 3,233 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $309.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.26. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $216.30 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

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.