Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $1.18 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $107,000. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $2,577,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 32,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,559,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price 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 target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:APD opened at $309.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.26. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.30 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $68.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders 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 is a boost 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%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 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.