Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA Sells 2,088 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA trimmed its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 65,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,088 shares during the quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $19,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $310.02 on Monday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $308.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.10 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued 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, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase 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 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.