Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,282 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,282 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $271.20 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.67. 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 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 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 issued 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total transaction of $745,966.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,172,411.90. The trade was a 19.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,751 shares of company stock worth $1,812,572. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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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