Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,486 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $31,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.5% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 5,352 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,713 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total value of $745,966.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,172,411.90. This trade represents a 19.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $4.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $310.02. 1,392,858 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,750,034. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.10 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

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.