Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Has $1.33 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. trimmed its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,596 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,125 shares during the quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $715,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,393,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 118.2% during the fourth 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. Finally, Tran Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $4.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.92. The company had a trading volume of 244,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,442,188. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $273.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.40. 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 market capitalization of $60.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The firm's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders 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 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.07%.

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.