Liberty Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at about $87,173,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.4 %

APD stock opened at $330.38 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $332.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $291.79 and its 200 day moving average is $270.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $73.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82.

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 firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on APD shares. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.82.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.