Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $4.08 on Friday, hitting $318.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,294,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,042. The firm has a market cap of $70.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $294.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.73. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $332.42.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APD. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.12.

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.