Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $919,721,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $885,371,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $163,013,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $159,886,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,615.5% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 530,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,723,000 after acquiring an additional 499,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.9 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $294.76 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $65.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $311.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.51.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released 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 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised 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 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.