Carderock Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Carderock Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,088 shares during the quarter. Parker-Hannifin makes up about 2.6% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Carderock Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $10,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PH. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 43.8% during the 4th quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Parker-Hannifin by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 5,235 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,330,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 16,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,303,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PH shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $770.00 to $710.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Parker-Hannifin from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 12th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $665.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $703.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $765.00 to $810.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $722.94.

Parker-Hannifin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PH traded up $12.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $670.75. 728,894 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,987. The business's fifty day moving average price is $670.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $618.53. The company has a market cap of $86.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 12-month low of $458.09 and a 12-month high of $712.42.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $6.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.14 by $0.06. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 14.47% and a return on equity of 27.95%. The firm had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.96 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Parker-Hannifin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Parker-Hannifin news, CEO Jennifer A. Parmentier sold 4,906 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.69, for a total transaction of $3,457,209.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,607 shares in the company, valued at $23,682,516.83. This represents a 12.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Joseph R. Leonti sold 5,877 shares of Parker-Hannifin stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.04, for a total value of $3,708,622.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,686,464. This represents a 27.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,077 shares of company stock worth $12,303,829. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Parker-Hannifin

Parker-Hannifin Corporation manufactures and sells motion and control technologies and systems for various mobile, industrial, and aerospace markets worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Diversified Industrial and Aerospace Systems. The Diversified Industrial segment offers sealing, shielding, thermal products and systems, adhesives, coatings, and noise vibration and harshness solutions; filters, systems, and diagnostics solutions to ensure purity and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors used in fluid and gas handling; and hydraulic, pneumatic, and electromechanical components and systems for builders and users of mobile and industrial machinery and equipment.