Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 74.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 141,571 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at $376,000. Eos Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 27,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 65,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,850,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $1,177,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth $501,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on APD. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $277.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $237.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $52.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $237.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.55. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.