Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Parker-Hannifin Corporation by 3.9%, purchasing an additional 372 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 9,988 shares valued at approximately $6.07 million.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their stakes in Parker-Hannifin, with Royal Bank of Canada increasing its holdings by 99.8% during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts are optimistic about Parker-Hannifin, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging around $739.59, amid various price target upgrades from multiple firms.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,988 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $6,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PH. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 482 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 217 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Jay Reidy sold 150 shares of Parker-Hannifin stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $620.37, for a total transaction of $93,055.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,230.71. The trade was a 6.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PH shares. Argus set a $680.00 price target on Parker-Hannifin in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $709.00 to $717.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $831.00 price objective (up previously from $709.00) on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $824.00 to $827.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $735.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $739.59.

Parker-Hannifin Price Performance

Parker-Hannifin stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $733.78. 121,967 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,649. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $689.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $653.65. The company has a market capitalization of $93.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.34. Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a 12-month low of $488.45 and a 12-month high of $745.34.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $6.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 26.80% and a net margin of 17.14%. Parker-Hannifin's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.51 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin Corporation will post 26.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin 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.