Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 780.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,624 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $486,343,000 after buying an additional 19,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $341.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $2.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $292.34. The stock had a trading volume of 604,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,485,700. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $312.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.