Compass Capital Corp MA ADV Acquires New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Compass Capital Corp MA ADV bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $339.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.4 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $4.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $310.02. 1,392,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,677,729. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.10 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $308.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.48.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 predict 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 41.11%.

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.