Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Haverford Financial Services Inc.

Haverford Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,698 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,238 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals comprises 1.8% of Haverford Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Haverford Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth about $163,013,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $159,886,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,307,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,165,733 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $350,139,000 after purchasing an additional 234,322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $341.47.

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Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of APD stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $295.40. 627,761 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,410,100. The business's fifty day moving average is $312.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business 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 a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.58%.

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.