FORA Capital LLC Takes $248,000 Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $271.05 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $60.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $279.33 and a 200 day moving average of $301.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered 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, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $3,423,034. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.