Argyle Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,344,000 after purchasing an additional 489,350 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 64.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 766,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,106,000 after purchasing an additional 299,649 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26,852.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,920,000 after purchasing an additional 274,697 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,502,717,000 after purchasing an additional 235,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 700,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $191,687,000 after purchasing an additional 186,894 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $236.08. 1,251,373 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,281,333. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.35. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its 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). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.