Vest Financial LLC Has $56.15 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 188,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $56,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. 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 report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One 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, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.82.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $332.10. 1,074,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,627,201. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $289.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.68. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $332.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82.

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

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.