Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1,685.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $249,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $309.21. The stock had a trading volume of 794,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,611,373. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $332.42. The company has a market cap of $68.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 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.