Praxair, Inc. (PX) Position Boosted by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 approximately 0.72% of Praxair worth $244,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PX. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Praxair by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 20,360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC increased its position in Praxair by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 499,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,502,000 after buying an additional 25,131 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new position in Praxair during the fourth quarter valued at $2,427,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in Praxair during the fourth quarter valued at $1,083,000. Finally, Searle & CO. purchased a new position in Praxair during the fourth quarter valued at $250,000. 85.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) traded down 0.287% during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.335. The stock had a trading volume of 437,241 shares. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $133.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.01. Praxair, Inc. has a one year low of $114.43 and a one year high of $138.69. The stock has a market cap of $37.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.407 and a beta of 0.93.

Praxair (NYSE:PX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.03. Praxair had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 27.93%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Praxair, Inc. will post $5.47 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.7875 per share. This represents a $3.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 6th. Praxair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.88%.

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PX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays PLC raised their price objective on Praxair from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank AG reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Praxair in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. BidaskClub cut Praxair from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Praxair from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $162.00 target price on shares of Praxair in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Praxair currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.09.

Praxair Company Profile

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.