GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,344,000 after purchasing an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 766,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,106,000 after buying an additional 299,649 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 26,852.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,920,000 after buying an additional 274,697 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after purchasing an additional 235,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 9,070.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 185,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,496,000 after purchasing an additional 183,218 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $234.72 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $236.80 and a 200 day moving average of $256.31. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share 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.