Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) is Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for 4.7% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dover Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 38 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 traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $235.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,037,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,524. The firm has a market cap of $52.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $236.80 and a 200 day moving average of $256.31.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

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.