B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Purchases 695 Shares of Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its position in Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $6,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 39.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 645,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $415,409,000 after acquiring an additional 181,859 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in Parker-Hannifin in the 4th quarter valued at $23,390,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 752.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,507,000 after purchasing an additional 21,521 shares during the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC raised its stake in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 485.2% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 10,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,838,000 after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 190,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,292,000 after buying an additional 25,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PH shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $791.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Parker-Hannifin from $765.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $777.00 to $824.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Parker-Hannifin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $775.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $736.65.

Parker-Hannifin Stock Performance

Parker-Hannifin stock opened at $608.33 on Tuesday. Parker-Hannifin Co. has a 1-year low of $492.71 and a 1-year high of $718.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $657.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $655.22.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $6.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.23 by $0.30. Parker-Hannifin had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 27.34%. As a group, analysts expect that Parker-Hannifin Co. will post 26.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Parker-Hannifin’s payout ratio is 26.99%.

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.