Analysts Set Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) PT at $326.12

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $326.12.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors raised 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 purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after acquiring an additional 721,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $306.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.91. The company has a market capitalization of $68.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $332.42.

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.