Boothbay Fund Management LLC Takes $455,000 Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 35.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,930 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 286.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,299 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,342,000 after purchasing an additional 15,791 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,514 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 2,995 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 770,529 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,418,000 after buying an additional 14,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 746 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of APD stock traded down $5.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $272.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 960,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,480,475. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $283.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.44. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.69 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.