Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,332 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $35,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $316.04. The company had a trading volume of 398,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,823. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $70.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $225.26 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $339.94.

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.