Great Lakes Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 289,107 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 16,027 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $83,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:APD opened at $298.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. 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 cap of $66.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.80.

Remove Ads

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding APD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.