Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CX Institutional increased its holdings in 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 period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $312.99. 2,585,110 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,427,137. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $69.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $301.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.23. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $332.42.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APD. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.00.

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.