Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock Rating Lowered by Bank of America

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $282.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $330.00. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.85% from the company’s current price.

APD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.18.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $261.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.89. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $227.76 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% 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.