Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 4,332 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,332 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $35,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 85,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439 shares during the last quarter. Mycio Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Mycio Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 9,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,875,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Point Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Point Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,675,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.5 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $316.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.26 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $308.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on APD shares. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This trade represents 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.