Valmark Advisers Inc. Sells 148 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $312.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $297.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.43. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $332.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.