Northcape Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after purchasing an additional 235,037 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,085,399,000 after purchasing an additional 39,215 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $528,877,000 after buying an additional 66,906 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,715,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,047,000 after buying an additional 21,422 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,339,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $379,680,000 after purchasing an additional 20,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. TheStreet cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $236.34. 3,555,343 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,738,771. The firm has a market cap of $52.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $237.37 and its 200 day moving average is $255.01.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.