Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 300 Shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $4,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Parker-Hannifin by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 645,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $415,409,000 after purchasing an additional 181,859 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Parker-Hannifin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,390,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 752.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,507,000 after acquiring an additional 21,521 shares in the last quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 59.1% in the third quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC now owns 39,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,700,000 after acquiring an additional 14,526 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC boosted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 485.2% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 10,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,838,000 after acquiring an additional 8,914 shares in the last quarter. 82.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Parker-Hannifin stock opened at $679.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $664.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $637.49. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 52-week low of $492.71 and a 52-week high of $718.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.45.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $6.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.23 by $0.30. Parker-Hannifin had a return on equity of 27.34% and a net margin of 15.87%. On average, analysts anticipate that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PH has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $842.00 to $805.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $775.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $710.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised Parker-Hannifin from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $786.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Parker-Hannifin in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $795.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $729.18.

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.