Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $505,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on APD shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut 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. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $298.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $66.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.58%.

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.