Liberty Capital Management Inc. Sells 74 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,173,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $330.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $73.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $332.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.20.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.82.

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.