Atria Investments Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,305 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $11,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $397,344.42. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,539,612.68. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:APD opened at $244.46 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.83.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.