Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at BNP Paribas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $316.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,171,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,907,431. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.65. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $220.26 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,932,581,000 after acquiring an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,191,344,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.