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

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 78.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $2,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PH. State Street Corp boosted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 13.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,202,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,918,696,000 after purchasing an additional 753,143 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 39.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,977,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,249,645,000 after buying an additional 564,365 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Parker-Hannifin by 64,081.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 381,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $241,279,000 after buying an additional 381,285 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Parker-Hannifin during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,570,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Parker-Hannifin by 3,566.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 363,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,541,000 after acquiring an additional 353,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,682,516.83. This represents a 12.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas C. Gentile sold 2,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.16, for a total value of $1,703,818.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,831,839.40. This trade represents a 30.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,077 shares of company stock valued at $12,303,829 over the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

NYSE:PH opened at $670.75 on Monday. 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. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 1 year low of $458.09 and a 1 year high of $712.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $670.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $619.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $6.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.96 earnings per share. Parker-Hannifin’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PH. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $703.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus lifted their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $650.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Parker-Hannifin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $691.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $725.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.94.

Parker-Hannifin Company Profile

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.