Ifrah Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Ifrah Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Ifrah Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $114,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price 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. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.7 %

AIT stock opened at $265.11 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $254.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.