New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $80.60 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 270,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 24,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $80,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after buying an additional 122,676 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $309.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $332.42. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $298.45 and a 200-day moving average of $274.23.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.12.

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.