Raymond James & Associates Buys 33,313 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.92% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $608,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,250.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,700.0% in the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 128.8% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.82.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD traded up $3.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $332.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,074,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,627,201. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $332.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $289.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. As a group, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current 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.