FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. Purchases 153 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $919,721,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $885,371,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.9 %

APD opened at $292.34 on Monday. 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 quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $311.68 and its 200 day moving average is $309.41.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date 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 is 41.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.