Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Increases Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,019 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $15,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after buying an additional 489,350 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 64.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 766,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,106,000 after buying an additional 299,649 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 26,852.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $754,920,000 after buying an additional 274,697 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after buying an additional 235,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 9,070.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 185,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,496,000 after purchasing an additional 183,218 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.4 %

APD traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $236.03. 657,263 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,709,969. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $236.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

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