Nicholas Company Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Nicholas Company Inc. lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,708 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,497 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised 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 valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on APD shares. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE APD traded down $1.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $292.77. The stock had a trading volume of 860,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,672. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. Company 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.