DF Dent & Co. Inc. Takes $5.73 Million Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 23,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,734,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Applied Industrial Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,542,000 after purchasing an additional 34,113 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,182,000 after buying an additional 20,842 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $136,803,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,690,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $84,139,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $236.62 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.85. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. 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 has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. KeyCorp cut 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 report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

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.