Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Holdings Trimmed by Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up about 4.3% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $116,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $316.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.53 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.95.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business 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 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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. Bank of America cut 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

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.