Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,638,257 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 316,797 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up 2.6% of Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $765,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,568,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,041,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $310,000,000 after acquiring an additional 9,260 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.0% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 26,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,831,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD opened at $292.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $311.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.19. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week 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.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (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, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.