Redmond Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after buying an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $371,920,000 after acquiring an additional 14,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price 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, StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $310.02 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.10 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 market capitalization of $68.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $308.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.66.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.