Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 1.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 144,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $32,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $129,690,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34,002.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 318,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,990,000 after buying an additional 317,247 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,145,000 after buying an additional 206,220 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,934,000 after buying an additional 134,975 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,518,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $244.11 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $230.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.24. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $182.21 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.91.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.