Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.4% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $227,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $211.16 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $243.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AIT. KeyCorp cut their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered 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 raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

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.