Aspire Growth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,405 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $697,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $715,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $111,488,000 after buying an additional 139,223 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,269,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD traded down $4.36 on Tuesday, reaching $267.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,184,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,470. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $282.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.02. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

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.