Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Sells 1,381 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,381 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 61,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,929,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,202,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 306,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,753,000 after purchasing an additional 63,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of APD opened at $294.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.53 and a 12-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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $312.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

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.