State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Parker-Hannifin Corporation $PH

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 4.6%, selling 1,600 shares and ending the quarter with 32,996 shares valued at about $29.0 million.
• Analysts are broadly positive on the stock—17 Buys vs. 4 Holds—with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a target price near $1,000.60, and several firms recently raising targets into the $1,050–$1,100 range.
• Parker-Hannifin boosted its quarterly dividend to $2.00 (annualized $8.00) and reported an EPS beat for the quarter, while insiders have sold roughly 10,063 shares (~$9.9 million) in the past 90 days.

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its stake in Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,996 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $29,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Parker-Hannifin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $266,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 982,780 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $863,824,000 after purchasing an additional 25,968 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Parker-Hannifin by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Parker-Hannifin by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,142,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,793,843,000 after purchasing an additional 33,606 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on PH shares. Robert W. Baird set a $1,050.00 price target on Parker-Hannifin in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Parker-Hannifin in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,090.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Parker-Hannifin from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Parker-Hannifin presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,000.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Parker-Hannifin

In related news, VP Matthew A. Jacobson sold 564 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.94, for a total transaction of $535,766.16. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,940. This represents a 36.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Andrew D. Ross sold 4,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $999.00, for a total transaction of $4,659,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,106,880. This trade represents a 26.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,063 shares of company stock valued at $9,891,214. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

NYSE:PH opened at $976.03 on Monday. Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a 52 week low of $583.89 and a 52 week high of $1,034.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $952.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $896.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $123.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.25.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $7.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.11 by $0.54. Parker-Hannifin had a return on equity of 27.56% and a net margin of 17.29%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Parker-Hannifin Corporation will post 30.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from Parker-Hannifin's previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. Parker-Hannifin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.26%.

About Parker-Hannifin

Parker-Hannifin Corporation NYSE: PH is a global manufacturer and provider of motion and control technologies and systems. The company designs, manufactures and services a broad range of engineered components and systems used to control the movement and flow of liquids, gases and hydraulic power. Its product portfolio is applied across demanding environments and includes solutions for industrial manufacturing, aerospace, mobile equipment and other engineered applications.

Parker-Hannifin's product and service offerings span hydraulic and pneumatic components, fittings and fluid connectors, valves, pumps and motors, electromechanical actuators and motion-control systems, filtration and separation products, and seals and sealing systems.

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