Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 9.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,689,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,437,096,000 after purchasing an additional 324,063 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,911,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,134,069,000 after buying an additional 52,739 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 2.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,310,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $510,320,000 after buying an additional 36,744 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,132,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $521,861,000 after buying an additional 336,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 7.4% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 626,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,136,000 after buying an additional 43,059 shares in the last quarter. 82.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PH has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $625.00 to $618.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $490.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $602.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen raised shares of Parker-Hannifin from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.56.

Parker-Hannifin Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PH opened at $550.14 on Wednesday. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 52 week low of $319.14 and a 52 week high of $570.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $545.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $70.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.51.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $6.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.10 by $0.41. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 29.40%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 24.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from Parker-Hannifin’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jay Reidy sold 572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.49, for a total value of $306,872.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,989.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Jay Reidy sold 572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.49, for a total transaction of $306,872.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,989.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Berend Bracht sold 1,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.85, for a total transaction of $592,209.15. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,305,170. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.03% of the company’s stock.

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.