Connecticut Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 257.6% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on APD shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $277.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.87. 1,559,471 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,590,100. The stock has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $238.22 and a 200-day moving average of $253.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.49. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal 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.