Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Trims Stake in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 68.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,080 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 13.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,202,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,918,696,000 after purchasing an additional 753,143 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,116,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,600,733,000 after buying an additional 272,531 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,577,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,623,689,000 after acquiring an additional 29,408 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Parker-Hannifin by 39.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,977,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,249,645,000 after acquiring an additional 564,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 3.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,593,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,007,102,000 after acquiring an additional 59,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Parker-Hannifin news, CEO Jennifer A. Parmentier sold 4,906 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.69, for a total value of $3,457,209.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,682,516.83. This represents a 12.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph R. Leonti sold 5,877 shares of Parker-Hannifin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.04, for a total value of $3,708,622.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,350 shares in the company, valued at $9,686,464. This trade represents a 27.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,077 shares of company stock worth $12,303,829. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Parker-Hannifin Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:PH opened at $662.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $668.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $625.84. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a one year low of $463.16 and a one year high of $712.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.45.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $6.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 14.47% and a return on equity of 27.95%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upped their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $650.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $665.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $842.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Parker-Hannifin from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $786.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $765.00 to $810.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $722.81.

Parker-Hannifin 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.