Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Sells 71 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $336,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $187.96 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.24 and a 1 year high of $201.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 2.59.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 8.39%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the subject of several recent 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 price target for the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Profile

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.