Valmark Advisers Inc. Sells 166 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lessened its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,059 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after acquiring an additional 235,037 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,085,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,215 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $528,877,000 after acquiring an additional 66,906 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,715,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,047,000 after acquiring an additional 21,422 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,339,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $379,680,000 after acquiring an additional 20,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APD. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $1.00 on Friday, hitting $236.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,251,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,333. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $255.60. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The company has a market capitalization of $52.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a PEG ratio of 2.60 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $3 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal 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.