Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Price Target Lowered to $324.00 at UBS Group

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $335.00 to $324.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $277.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.89. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $283.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.