Enterprise Financial Services Corp Grows Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $316.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $311.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.21.

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 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%. Equities 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.