Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dover Advisors LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.8% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $246.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $238.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.80. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. TheStreet lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $277.43.

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.