Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Stock Position Decreased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,605,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,490 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.00% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $1,102,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,540,000 after buying an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,053,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,238,000 after buying an additional 29,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $225.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $246.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.90. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.64%.

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.