US Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,639 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

US Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $376,000. Eos Management L.P. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 27,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,727 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 65,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,850,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,177,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $501,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $277.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $251.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 450,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,689,247. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.21. The company has a market cap of $55.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 EPS 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.