Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $316,000 Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 62,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 15,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,000. Fullcircle Wealth LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC now owns 5,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $275.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.56. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.69 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $61.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.