Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,599 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,001 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $2,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Parker-Hannifin by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,854,774 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,903,962,000 after acquiring an additional 111,406 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,677,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,699,580,000 after acquiring an additional 99,261 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,502,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,591,810,000 after acquiring an additional 198,292 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,016,091 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,282,294,000 after acquiring an additional 172,064 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Parker-Hannifin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,106,132,000. 82.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PH. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $750.00 to $700.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $690.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $710.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $842.00 to $805.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $842.00 to $717.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $710.12.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

Shares of PH stock traded up $8.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $680.95. The company had a trading volume of 458,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,563. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $602.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $646.70. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a one year low of $488.45 and a one year high of $718.44. The firm has a market cap of $87.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $6.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.72 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $4.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 27.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from Parker-Hannifin's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Parker-Hannifin's payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

Insider Transactions at Parker-Hannifin

In related news, VP Jay Reidy sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $620.37, for a total value of $93,055.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,230.71. This trade represents a 6.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.