Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 300 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 32,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,757,000 after acquiring an additional 2,007 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 14,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at about $3,667,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $294.43 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $313.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.24. The company has a market cap of $65.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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%. Research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm 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 boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.