Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 57,410 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,467,674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 57,410 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals comprises about 2.4% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.66% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $401,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,502,717,000 after acquiring an additional 235,037 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,085,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,215 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted 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 buying an additional 66,906 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 21,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 20,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $236.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $237.14 and its 200 day moving average is $255.82. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

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.