Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,001 Shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,001 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,854,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,903,962,000 after acquiring an additional 111,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,677,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,699,580,000 after purchasing an additional 99,261 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,502,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,591,810,000 after purchasing an additional 198,292 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 99.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,277,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,448,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,016,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,282,294,000 after purchasing an additional 172,064 shares in the last quarter. 82.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jay Reidy sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was 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. This represents a 6.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

NYSE:PH opened at $670.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $610.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $647.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.36. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 52-week low of $488.45 and a 52-week high of $718.44.

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

Parker-Hannifin Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Parker-Hannifin’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio is 27.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PH. Barclays reduced their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $564.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Parker-Hannifin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho set a $785.00 target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Parker-Hannifin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.44.

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.