Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $715,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Tran Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $8,499,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $267,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of APD opened at $270.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $273.90 and a 200 day moving average of $298.70.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 104.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.38.

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.