Texas Bank & Trust Co Buys New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Texas Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,713 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $809,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,326 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,269,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $269.75. 204,492 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,444,251. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $274.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. On average, equities 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 firm also recently declared 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 yield of 2.65%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $330.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.