Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 189.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,423 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,549 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APD. 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 valued at $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $919,721,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $885,371,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report 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 note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $4.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $268.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 287,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,479,985. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $228.81 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $59.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $289.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.94.

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 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

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.