Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stake in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,566,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,872,694,000 after purchasing an additional 105,475 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Parker-Hannifin during the 4th quarter valued at about $665,188,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,111,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $617,878,000 after buying an additional 43,535 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 23.0% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 758,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $383,594,000 after buying an additional 141,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Parker-Hannifin by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 694,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,173,000 after acquiring an additional 25,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Parker-Hannifin news, VP Berend Bracht sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.92, for a total transaction of $503,982.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,986,282. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Berend Bracht sold 850 shares of Parker-Hannifin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.92, for a total transaction of $503,982.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,350 shares in the company, valued at $1,986,282. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Scaminace sold 1,751 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.73, for a total value of $1,032,617.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,947. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Parker-Hannifin Price Performance

PH opened at $591.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $562.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $545.02. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 52-week low of $362.49 and a 52-week high of $601.30.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported $6.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.55. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 29.08%. The business had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.67 EPS for the current year.

Parker-Hannifin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Parker-Hannifin’s payout ratio is currently 30.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Parker-Hannifin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $650.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $629.00 to $613.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $618.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Parker-Hannifin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $624.43.

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.