OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Acquires 1,577 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $271.20 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $60.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $276.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.67. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.69 and a 52-week high of $341.14.

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

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,751 shares of company stock worth $1,812,572. Company 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.