MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Trims Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 424 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $637,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on APD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total transaction of $745,966.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,172,411.90. This trade represents a 19.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,751 shares of company stock valued at $1,812,572 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $274.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $276.37 and a 200 day moving average of $300.37. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $61.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current 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.