HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 63,142 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,142 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $88,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after acquiring an additional 30,888 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,967,000 after acquiring an additional 70,759 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,343,000 after acquiring an additional 19,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $294.70 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $312.19 and a 200-day moving average of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. 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 presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.