Forsta AP Fonden Grows Position in Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Parker-Hannifin Corporation by 1.7%, owning a total of 36,200 shares valued at $22 million by the end of the 1st quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Royal Bank of Canada, significantly boosted their holdings in Parker-Hannifin, reflecting a strong interest in the stock.
• Wall Street analysts have a generally positive outlook on Parker-Hannifin, with an average target price of $756.06 and several buy ratings, indicating strong potential for future growth.

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $22,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,580 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 3.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 3.5% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 468 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 8.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert W. Malone sold 2,257 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $730.66, for a total transaction of $1,649,099.62. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,286,051.56. This trade represents a 27.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas C. Gentile sold 1,133 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $729.50, for a total value of $826,523.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,465 shares in the company, valued at $3,986,717.50. This represents a 17.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,414 shares of company stock valued at $6,883,931. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PH shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $717.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $790.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $831.00 price objective (up previously from $709.00) on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a report on Monday, July 14th. Argus set a $680.00 price objective on Parker-Hannifin in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $763.00.

Parker-Hannifin Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE PH traded up $5.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $757.99. 297,435 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,755. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company's 50 day moving average price is $700.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $657.21. Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a 12 month low of $488.45 and a 12 month high of $763.99.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $7.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.08 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Parker-Hannifin had a return on equity of 26.80% and a net margin of 17.79%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Parker-Hannifin Corporation will post 26.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.