Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,724 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 266 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 5,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 7,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $3,724,000. Finally, Core Alternative Capital raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 24,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,138,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised shares of 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 report on Friday, January 24th. 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 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $310.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.30 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $308.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.60. The stock has a market cap of $69.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share 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 given a $1.79 dividend. 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%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 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.