Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,288 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $53,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $254.30 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.50 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $254.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.24. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.