B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after buying an additional 64,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,430,354,000 after buying an additional 57,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $270.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $273.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.40. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $60.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.38.

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.