GAM Holding AG Takes $1.04 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE APD opened at $316.97 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $225.26 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

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.