L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Purchases Shares of 739 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on 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 lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.3 %

APD stock traded down $4.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $318.02. 1,294,777 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,042. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $294.60 and a 200-day moving average of $271.73. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $332.42.

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