First American Trust FSB Takes Position in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX)

First American Trust FSB acquired a new position in shares of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 23,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,176,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. increased its stake in Praxair by 16.5% in the first quarter. Carroll Financial Associates Inc. now owns 847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in Praxair by 31.2% in the first quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 842 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Praxair by 6.8% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America increased its stake in Praxair by 0.7% in the first quarter. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America now owns 1,101 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Praxair by 4.0% in the first quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 84.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE PX) opened at 132.30 on Friday. Praxair, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.43 and a 1-year high of $138.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.38 and its 200 day moving average is $126.00. The company has a market cap of $37.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 0.93.

Praxair (NYSE:PX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Praxair had a return on equity of 27.93% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Praxair, Inc. will post $5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.7875 dividend. This represents a $3.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 6th. Praxair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.88%.

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A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PX shares. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Praxair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $134.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Barclays PLC upped their target price on shares of Praxair from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank AG reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Praxair in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $162.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Praxair in a research report on Saturday, June 3rd. Finally, Vertical Group raised shares of Praxair to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $123.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.