Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Bought by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 441,677 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 52,459 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.20% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $128,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,948 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 21,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,196,000 after buying an additional 2,486 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,090,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,734 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,377,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 32,287 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,365,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total value of $745,966.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,172,411.90. This represents a 19.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,751 shares of company stock valued at $1,812,572 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of APD stock traded down $2.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $271.20. 944,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,474,462. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $60.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50 day moving average is $277.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.87. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14.

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