Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Acquired by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,235 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.0% in the third quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 39,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,114,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 494.2% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 21,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 96.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 425,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,755,000 after purchasing an additional 208,315 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $191.13 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.24 and a fifty-two week high of $201.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $189.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.13. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 8.39%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.