Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $715,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,488,000 after buying an additional 139,223 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,269,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:APD opened at $269.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. 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 quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $3,423,034. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APD. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given 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 a consensus target price of $330.38.

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.