Royal Bank of Canada Has $695.29 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,397,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.08% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $695,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 19,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,852,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 11,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,248,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 28,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,257,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock traded down $1.54 on Tuesday, hitting $275.79. 1,050,652 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,530. 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 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $61.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $275.64 and a 200 day moving average of $299.73.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly revenue 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.