Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of 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 valued at $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $32,233,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $3,591,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,540,000 after buying an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 2.7 %

AIT stock opened at $224.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $251.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.41. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 3.14 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, 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%. Research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AIT shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

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.