Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) issued its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47, MarketBeat.Com reports. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The company earned $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion.

In related news, CEO Stephen F. Angel purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $489,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,080,554.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

A number of analysts have recently commented on PX shares. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Praxair from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Citigroup Inc. upped their target price on Praxair from $113.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 5th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Praxair from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Praxair in a research note on Friday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Praxair in a research note on Friday, January 22nd. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.60.

Praxair (NYSE:PX) opened at 100.00 on Monday. Praxair has a one year low of $95.60 and a one year high of $130.38. The firm has a market cap of $28.53 billion and a PE ratio of 18.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.74.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Praxair’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) is an industrial gas supplier in North and South America, Asia and Europe. 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, Praxair operates its surface technologies business through its wholly owned subsidiary, Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., which represents the fifth segment. The Company’s products in its industrial gases business include atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, rare gases) and process gases (carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, acetylene). The company also designs, engineers and builds equipment that produces industrial gases primarily for internal use. The company’s surface technologies segment, operated through Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., supplies wear-resistant and high-temperature corrosion-resistant metallic and ceramic coatings and powders.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:PX

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