Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Buys New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 362,038 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $105,006,000. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 0.9% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.16% of Air Products and Chemicals as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares during the period. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $1,191,344,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.5%

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $277.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The business's fifty day moving average is $275.64 and its 200 day moving average is $299.73.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The firm 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 company posted $2.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APD. 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, May 2nd. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $330.38.

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.

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