Green Square Capital LLC Buys Shares of 3,372 Praxair, Inc. (PX)

Green Square Capital LLC acquired a new position in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Egerton Capital UK LLP increased its position in shares of Praxair by 10.1% in the first quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 2,338,087 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $277,297,000 after buying an additional 215,399 shares during the period. Cribstone Capital Management LLC increased its position in Praxair by 49.3% in the first quarter. Cribstone Capital Management LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Searle & CO. acquired a new position in Praxair during the fourth quarter valued at $250,000. Benin Management CORP increased its position in Praxair by 33.9% in the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 10,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in Praxair by 3.1% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 73,514 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,719,000 after buying an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.49% of the company’s stock.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) traded down 0.13% on Friday, hitting $130.15. 1,143,551 shares of the company traded hands. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.93. Praxair, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.43 and a 12 month high of $138.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $133.75 and its 200 day moving average is $125.01.

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 Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.03. Praxair had a return on equity of 27.93% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Praxair’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Praxair, Inc. will post $5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a $0.7875 dividend. This represents a $3.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 6th. Praxair’s payout ratio is 58.88%.

Several research firms recently weighed in on PX. Barclays PLC raised their target price on shares of 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. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Praxair from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. BidaskClub cut shares of Praxair from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $162.00 price target on shares of Praxair in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

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.