Carderock Capital Management Inc. Has $7.65 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Carderock Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the period. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after acquiring an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $499,735,000 after purchasing an additional 389,380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $326.71 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $328.72. The company has a market capitalization of $72.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $287.49 and a 200-day moving average of $267.44.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on APD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.24.

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.