Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dover Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.4% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD opened at $235.05 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $236.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.16. The stock has a market cap of $52.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS 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.