Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Position in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Parker-Hannifin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 59,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,746,000 after acquiring an additional 7,480 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 4,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,961,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lifted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 6,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.44% of the company’s stock.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

Shares of PH stock opened at $635.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $664.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $650.47. The stock has a market cap of $81.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.45. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 1 year low of $492.71 and a 1 year high of $718.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $6.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.23 by $0.30. Parker-Hannifin had a return on equity of 27.34% and a net margin of 15.87%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.71 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, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Parker-Hannifin’s payout ratio is 26.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PH. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $777.00 to $824.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $775.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $689.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $710.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $800.00 to $791.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $739.06.

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.