Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Buys 975 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a 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 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $310.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $69.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.41. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.58%.

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.