ORG Partners LLC Trims Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

ORG Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,525,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 5,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 19.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 223.7% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.24.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $326.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $328.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $287.49 and its 200 day moving average is $267.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.