Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA Sells 2,088 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lessened its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,088 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $19,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 10,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $994,000. BCGM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $310.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.85. 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 quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $304.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

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.