Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Has $5.09 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lessened its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $275.79 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $275.30 and its 200-day moving average is $299.56. 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.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.