Trexquant Investment LP Takes $722,000 Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,488 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,430,354,000 after buying an additional 57,314 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $919,721,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $885,371,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 30,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.18.

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Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $7.13 on Tuesday, reaching $265.45. 1,305,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,491,277. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $59.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $296.87 and a 200 day moving average of $307.49. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This is a boost 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 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.