Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $7.83 Million Stock Holdings in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $7,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Port Capital LLC grew its position in Parker-Hannifin by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 67,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,680,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Parker-Hannifin by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 21,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,613,000 after buying an additional 2,706 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Parker-Hannifin by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,022,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Parker-Hannifin during the fourth quarter worth about $1,208,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in Parker-Hannifin by 184.1% during the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. 82.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jay Reidy sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $620.37, for a total value of $93,055.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,230.71. The trade was a 6.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PH. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $777.00 to $824.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $795.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $842.00 to $805.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Parker-Hannifin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Argus set a $680.00 price objective on Parker-Hannifin in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $713.88.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

PH stock opened at $680.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $603.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $647.24. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $488.45 and a fifty-two week high of $718.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.36.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $6.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.72 by $0.22. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 27.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.51 EPS. Parker-Hannifin’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.71 EPS for the current year.

Parker-Hannifin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Parker-Hannifin’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Parker-Hannifin’s payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

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.