Triad Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $395,000 Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after buying an additional 30,888 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after buying an additional 19,209 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,288,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,737,000 after acquiring an additional 39,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $305.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $310.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its 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%. Analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total value of $745,966.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,172,411.90. This represents a 19.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.