Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 72.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 226,725 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $25,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 worth $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,138,000,000 after purchasing an additional 715,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $309.21 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $332.42. The company has a market cap of $68.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.45 and its 200-day moving average is $274.23.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.12.

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.