Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin in the fourth quarter worth about $1,106,132,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 116,370.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,140,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $725,229,000 after buying an additional 1,139,265 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 438,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,661,000 after buying an additional 279,480 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin in the fourth quarter worth about $175,739,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 911,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $579,471,000 after buying an additional 265,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $710.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $791.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research cut Parker-Hannifin from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $842.00 to $805.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $777.00 to $824.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $723.41.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

Shares of PH stock opened at $596.76 on Thursday. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 12-month low of $488.45 and a 12-month high of $718.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $636.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $651.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $6.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.71 EPS for the current year.

Parker-Hannifin Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Parker-Hannifin’s payout ratio is currently 26.99%.

Parker-Hannifin Company 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.