JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 102,090 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,089,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 102,090 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 2.84% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $261,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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, KeyCorp dropped their price objective 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, March 17th. Two investment 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $225.57 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $246.85 and its 200 day moving average is $245.57.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.