Windward Capital Management Co. CA Increases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,028,000 after acquiring an additional 14,981 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.5% in the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 38,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,605,000 after buying an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 51,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,217,000 after buying an additional 12,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on APD. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.0 %

APD stock opened at $312.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $332.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.12. The business 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.