Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Bought by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 142.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,958 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $715,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after buying an additional 4,916 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD opened at $275.81 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly 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). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,751 shares of company stock worth $1,812,572 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.