Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 770,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,067 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.35% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $229,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $444,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings 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 valued at $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $249,698,000 after acquiring an additional 721,671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on APD. Barclays lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $313.00 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $300.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.13. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $332.42. The stock has a market cap of $69.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.81.

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.