Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) VP Sean D. Major Sells 4,500 Shares

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $4.95 during trading on Thursday, reaching $315.30. 609,951 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,835,714. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.30 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.65. The firm has a market cap of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

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 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current year.

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Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APD. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,430,354,000 after buying an additional 57,314 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $919,721,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $885,371,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% 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.