Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 29th, there was short interest totalling 872,600 shares, a decrease of 29.6% from the October 14th total of 1,240,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 864,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.
Several research firms have weighed in on PH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $314.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 5th. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a report on Friday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $337.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a report on Thursday, October 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $337.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a report on Friday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Parker-Hannifin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.06.
Parker-Hannifin stock traded down $2.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $329.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 832,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,522. The company has a market capitalization of $42.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.74. Parker-Hannifin has a 12 month low of $247.41 and a 12 month high of $334.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.72.
Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.58. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 27.02%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Parker-Hannifin will post 16.94 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 12th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 10th. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.83%.
In related news, VP Andrew M. Weeks sold 2,595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.01, for a total value of $851,185.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Williams sold 23,496 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.33, for a total transaction of $7,620,457.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,114 shares of company stock worth $9,806,636 over the last three months. 1.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PH. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 310,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,324,000 after acquiring an additional 43,094 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,343,000 after buying an additional 22,854 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Company LLC acquired a new position in Parker-Hannifin in the 1st quarter valued at about $84,000. Man Group plc raised its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Man Group plc now owns 31,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 21.9% during the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,125,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,054,000 after acquiring an additional 202,369 shares during the last quarter. 79.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Parker-Hannifin
Parker-Hannifin Corp. engages in the manufacture of motion and control technologies and systems. It operates through Diversified Industrial and Aerospace segments. The Diversified Industrial segment sells products to both original equipment manufacturers and distributors who serve the replacement markets in manufacturing, packaging, processing, transportation, mobile construction, refrigeration and air conditioning, agricultural and military machinery, and equipment industries.