Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Raises Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $316.76 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $311.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.21. The stock has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. 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. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APD. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.53.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.