S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Purchases 1,559 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,559 shares during the quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 8,705 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 12,027 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,704 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,733,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 46,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,362,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $336.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $307.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,211,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,687. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $337.00. The company has a market capitalization of $68.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $309.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.39.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

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.