First Pacific Financial Sells 86 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

First Pacific Financial lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $111,488,000 after purchasing an additional 139,223 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,607,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,921,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,440,000 after acquiring an additional 35,479 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 44,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on APD shares. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company 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 $330.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $312.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $69.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $337.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.48.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.21%.

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.