Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Purchased by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $32,233,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,034,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,897,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $229.89 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.