Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,542,000 after acquiring an additional 34,113 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,181,000 after acquiring an additional 40,689 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $84,139,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 366,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,698,000 after acquiring an additional 11,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $227.14 on Tuesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $250.57 and a 200-day moving average of $243.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

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.