KBC Group NV Acquires 214 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $245.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.39. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $182.21 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.47%.

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.