Parker-Hannifin Co. (NYSE:PH) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 1,158 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,231% compared to the typical volume of 87 call options.
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 12th. Vertical Research raised Parker-Hannifin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $331.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup Inc. 3% Minimum Coupon Principal Protected Based Upon Russell upped their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $305.00 to $340.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $331.46.
In other news, EVP Mark J. Hart sold 7,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.95, for a total value of $2,435,139.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,585,545.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Lee C. Banks sold 13,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.34, for a total value of $4,307,918.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 108,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,273,540.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,806 shares of company stock valued at $9,452,769 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Parker-Hannifin by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 230,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,852,000 after buying an additional 86,618 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,961,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $534,246,000 after purchasing an additional 14,687 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 70.4% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 923,250 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,502,000 after purchasing an additional 305,037 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors raised its position in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 153.2% during the first quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 2,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.88% of the company’s stock.
Parker-Hannifin stock opened at $285.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $311.00. Parker-Hannifin has a 52-week low of $170.30 and a 52-week high of $324.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.79.
Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.78 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. Parker-Hannifin had a return on equity of 25.33% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, May 7th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Parker-Hannifin’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 6th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Parker-Hannifin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.18%.
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 monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors, which control, transmit, and contain fluid; control solutions for extreme corrosion resistance, temperatures, pressures, and precise flow; and hydraulic, pneumatic, and electromechanical components and systems for builders and users of mobile and industrial machinery and equipment.
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