Millstone Evans Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,288 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $374,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 32,297 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,616,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,992 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 39.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 308,329 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $91,802,000 after purchasing an additional 3,901 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered 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 objective on 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $1.88 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $295.04. 788,953 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,410,210. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $65.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.01.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm 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 an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 45.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last three months. Corporate 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.