Creative Planning Purchases 2,131 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 71,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $21,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after acquiring an additional 520,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth about $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on APD. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.82.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.0 %

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

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share 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.