Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $1.01 Million Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% in the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $316.76 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $311.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.98. The company has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.