Silicon Valley Capital Partners Purchases 2,403 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,958 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,403 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 1.1% of Silicon Valley Capital Partners' holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Silicon Valley Capital Partners' holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $9,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America lowered 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 report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $4.95 during trading on Thursday, reaching $315.30. The company had a trading volume of 900,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,849,371. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.30 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $308.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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 forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032. 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.