Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Soltis Investment Advisors LLC

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,411 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after buying an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,343,000 after acquiring an additional 19,209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $310.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $309.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.60. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on APD. UBS Group boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.