Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Sells 316,797 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC decreased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,638,257 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 316,797 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for 2.6% of Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned about 1.19% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $765,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,568,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,041,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $310,000,000 after acquiring an additional 9,260 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 26,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,831,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $292.34 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $311.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.19. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts anticipate 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 declared 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 is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.