Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 297 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Twin City Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 9,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,845,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. Finally, Banco de Sabadell S.A grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 6,496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % 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, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $293.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $312.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.01. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $65.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. 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.