BTC Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 8,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,546,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 39.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 645,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $415,409,000 after acquiring an additional 181,859 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin in the 4th quarter valued at $23,390,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 752.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,507,000 after buying an additional 21,521 shares during the period. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 59.1% during the third quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC now owns 39,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,700,000 after buying an additional 14,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 11.9% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,147,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the period. 82.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Parker-Hannifin Price Performance

PH stock opened at $704.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.45. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 52-week low of $463.16 and a 52-week high of $712.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $666.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $628.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $6.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.23 by $0.30. Parker-Hannifin had a return on equity of 27.95% and a net margin of 14.47%. Research analysts expect that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.45%.

Insider Activity at Parker-Hannifin

In related news, COO Andrew D. Ross sold 4,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.04, for a total transaction of $3,434,178.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 13,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,263,244.80. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer A. Parmentier sold 4,906 shares of Parker-Hannifin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.69, for a total transaction of $3,457,209.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,682,516.83. This represents a 12.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,595,207 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PH shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $691.00 to $689.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $725.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $765.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Parker-Hannifin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $665.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.81.

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.