Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires Shares of 5,284 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AIT shares. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Bank of America upgraded 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. KeyCorp dropped 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 research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $230.26 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.