Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,058,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 147,306 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.72% of Praxair worth $244,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Praxair during the first quarter valued at about $3,243,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Praxair by 1.4% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 35,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,217,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Praxair by 0.9% in the first quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Dynamo Internacional Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. raised its stake in Praxair by 6.7% in the first quarter. Dynamo Internacional Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. now owns 1,356,369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,654,000 after buying an additional 85,100 shares during the period. Finally, Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Praxair by 4.1% in the first quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 930,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $110,329,000 after buying an additional 36,644 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.
Praxair, Inc. (NYSE PX) opened at 134.74 on Friday. Praxair, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.43 and a 52-week high of $138.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $133.98 and its 200-day moving average is $123.98. The stock has a market cap of $38.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33 and a beta of 0.94.
Praxair (NYSE:PX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Praxair had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Praxair, Inc. will post $5.47 earnings per share for the current year.
Several research firms have recently issued reports on PX. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Praxair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Praxair from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Praxair in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. J P Morgan Chase & Co reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Praxair in a report on Sunday, June 11th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of Praxair to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $127.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Praxair currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.
About Praxair
Praxair, Inc is an industrial gas company. The Company’s operations are organized into five segments, four of which have been determined on a geographic basis of segmentation: North America, Europe, South America and Asia. In addition, it operates its surface technologies business through its subsidiary, Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc, which represents the fifth segment.
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