First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $3.19 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in 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 worth $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $87,173,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $332.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $332.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $289.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APD. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.