Baxter Bros Inc. Increases Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Baxter Bros Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 1.1% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after buying an additional 235,037 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,085,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,215 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,877,000 after acquiring an additional 66,906 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,715,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,047,000 after purchasing an additional 21,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,339,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $379,680,000 after purchasing an additional 20,113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on APD. TD Cowen raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $277.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $245.87. 1,559,471 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,590,100. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $238.22 and its 200-day moving average is $254.19.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 EPS 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.