Kovack Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $308.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 760,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,314. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $310.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.41. 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 announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities 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 firm 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 dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on APD. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $343.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.