Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,171 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sky Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 6,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of APD stock opened at $275.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.56. 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 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $61.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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.