Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 994 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 994 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $12,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,502,717,000 after purchasing an additional 235,037 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,085,399,000 after purchasing an additional 39,215 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,877,000 after purchasing an additional 66,906 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,715,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,047,000 after purchasing an additional 21,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,339,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $379,680,000 after purchasing an additional 20,113 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of APD stock traded down $6.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $231.54. 611,258 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,702,538. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.01. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.12. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.36.

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.