Enhancing Capital LLC Buys Shares of 2,426 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,426 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,440,000 after purchasing an additional 35,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on APD shares. 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 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 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $342.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.5 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $291.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,875,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,414,591. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $313.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.22. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its 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, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 41.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.