Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,250.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 104.3% in the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.82.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD opened at $332.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $73.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $289.56 and a 200-day moving average of $268.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $332.17.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current 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.