BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 14,423 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp reduced its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 179,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 14,423 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $52,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after acquiring an additional 207,404 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 57,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $275.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $61.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $275.30 and its two-hundred 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 (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on APD. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.38.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.