Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $663,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AIT. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $262.44 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $255.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.28. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

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.