Benin Management CORP reduced its stake in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 575 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Praxair were worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Praxair by 0.5% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,311 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Praxair during the second quarter valued at $213,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in shares of Praxair by 16.4% in the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,010,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Praxair by 1.0% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 15,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Praxair by 1,252.5% in the second quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. now owns 19,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,617,000 after buying an additional 18,286 shares during the last quarter. 85.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) traded down 0.13% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,143,551 shares. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.75 and a 200-day moving average of $125.01. The stock has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.93. Praxair, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.43 and a 52-week high of $138.69.
Praxair (NYSE:PX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Praxair had a return on equity of 27.93% and a net margin of 14.10%. Praxair’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Praxair, Inc. will post $5.47 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.7875 per share. This represents a $3.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 6th. Praxair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.88%.
A number of brokerages have recently commented on PX. Zacks Investment Research lowered Praxair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. BidaskClub lowered Praxair from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Jefferies Group LLC reissued 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 reissued 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 raised Praxair to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $127.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Praxair presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.
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