Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock Position Increased by Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.

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 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals comprises about 4.7% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. 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 & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,502,717,000 after acquiring an additional 235,037 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 39,215 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,877,000 after acquiring an additional 66,906 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,715,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,047,000 after acquiring an additional 21,422 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 20,113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.2 %

APD traded up $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $235.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,037,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,524. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $236.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $52.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

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.