Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Increases Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,849 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,860 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $790,371,000 after purchasing an additional 122,676 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $328.18.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $313.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,936,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,513. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $332.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $301.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.81.

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.