Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Purchases 402 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 47.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AIT. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,452,000 after acquiring an additional 85,270 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,182,000 after purchasing an additional 20,842 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $129,690,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,315,000 after acquiring an additional 56,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 471,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,870,000 after purchasing an additional 33,842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:AIT opened at $254.46 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.71 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 1,500,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.00.

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.