Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.1% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 242,862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,264,000 after acquiring an additional 15,747 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 7,325 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $295.05 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.53 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

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.