Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 976,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.44% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $236,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $376,000. Eos Management L.P. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 27,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,545,000 after buying an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 65,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,850,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,177,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at $501,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $1.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.34. The stock had a trading volume of 3,555,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,738,771. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.67.

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