Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after acquiring an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in 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, Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,751 shares of company stock worth $1,812,572 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $271.20 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $276.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.67.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 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 business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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.