Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC Acquires 74 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,231,560,000 after buying an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,932,581,000 after acquiring an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,430,354,000 after acquiring an additional 57,314 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,583,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,039,259,000 after purchasing an additional 156,419 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE APD opened at $271.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.50. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. 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 stock has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $3,423,034 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on APD. Barclays reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.