Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 5,411 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,223 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,411 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $304,717,000 after buying an additional 723,019 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $282,473,000 after buying an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $249,698,000 after buying an additional 721,671 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,138,000,000 after buying an additional 715,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APD. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm'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 sale, 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 position. The transaction 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 firm's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $4.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $315.30. 900,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,849,371. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.30 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $308.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 12.77 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.11%.

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.