ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The third quarter experienced significant gains for U.S. equities, which recovered from a fear of slowing economic growth that had driven several asset markets into correction territory. A broad rebound was then induced by a 50 basis point interest rate drop by the Federal Reserve. The Russell 1000 Value Index generated a gain of 9.43% for the quarter. Against this backdrop, the ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy underperformed the benchmark Russell 1000 Value Index during the quarter. In addition, you can check the fund's top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.

ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy highlighted stocks like Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) manufactures motion and control technologies and systems for mobile, industrial, and aerospace markets. The one-month return of Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) was 6.80%, and its shares gained 60.72% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 9, 2024, Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) stock closed at $631.52 per share with a market capitalization of $81.258 billion.

ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy stated the following regarding Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

"In industrials, we trimmed Illinois Tool Works and initiated a position in a similar high-quality diversified industrial franchise, Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH), a motion and control technologies company with growing aerospace and defense exposure currently representing about 40% of the business. While both companies are high-quality diversified industrial franchises, the latter has been able to grow faster by pivoting toward a longer-cycle A&D business, yet its stock continues to trade at a discount relative to its peers."

A robotic arm in a factory demonstrating the application of motion control technologies.

Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 67 hedge fund portfolios held Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) at the end of the second quarter which was 63 in the previous quarter. In the June quarter, Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) experienced total sales growth of nearly 2% compared to the previous year, reaching nearly $5.2 billion in sales. While we acknowledge the potential of Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.