Signaturefd LLC Purchases 261 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APD. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 39,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,112,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $328,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.65.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $291.56 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.34. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts expect 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

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.