Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $125.87 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 433,983 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,564 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $125,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $316.74 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $308.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.65. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $220.26 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. 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 dividend yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on APD shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

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.