Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 70.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,019 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD traded up $4.14 on Friday, reaching $316.55. 1,375,104 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,668,326. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $310.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.74. The firm has a market cap of $70.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $339.94.

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.