Personal CFO Solutions LLC Sells 114 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC cut its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Amundi lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,270,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $362,443,000 after purchasing an additional 7,496 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $87,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 20,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,042,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $316.76 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $311.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.43. The stock has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. 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 41.58%.

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.