Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 176.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 438,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 279,480 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.34% of Parker-Hannifin worth $278,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PH. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,202,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,918,696,000 after buying an additional 753,143 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,116,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,600,733,000 after acquiring an additional 272,531 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,577,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,623,689,000 after purchasing an additional 29,408 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 39.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 564,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 3.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,007,102,000 after purchasing an additional 59,432 shares in the last quarter. 82.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Parker-Hannifin

In other news, VP Joseph R. Leonti sold 5,877 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.04, for a total transaction of $3,708,622.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,686,464. This represents a 27.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas C. Gentile sold 2,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.16, for a total transaction of $1,703,818.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,077 shares of company stock valued at $12,303,829. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $765.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $770.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $842.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Parker-Hannifin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Parker-Hannifin from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $786.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $722.94.

Parker-Hannifin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PH opened at $647.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $673.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $616.80. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 1-year low of $453.18 and a 1-year high of $712.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $83.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.45.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $6.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.75 EPS for the current year.

Parker-Hannifin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Parker-Hannifin’s payout ratio is 29.45%.

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.