Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 22,846 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,166,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,846 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $319,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $376,000. Eos Management L.P. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 27,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 65,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,177,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth about $501,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $277.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $246.38. The company had a trading volume of 319,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,706,427. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $238.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $54.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.