Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 683 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Harfst & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 683 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.1 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $313.79 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.39.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America downgraded 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total value of $745,966.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,172,411.90. This trade represents a 19.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.