Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. reduced its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,138,000,000 after purchasing an additional 715,686 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $322.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $292.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.59. The company has a market capitalization of $71.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $332.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on APD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.82.

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.