National Bank of Canada FI Sells 1,751,916 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 93.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,374 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,751,916 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.05% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $33,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,640 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,870,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.1% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,364 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 242,862 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,264,000 after buying an additional 15,747 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 48.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 7,325 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,181,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a 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 objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD traded down $7.02 on Monday, hitting $256.45. 740,270 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,482,591. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $308.14 and a 200-day moving average of $309.39. The stock has a market cap of $57.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. 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 (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect 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 disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.