AXQ Capital LP Buys New Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position 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 valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 4.5 %

AIT stock opened at $234.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $248.64 and a 200-day moving average of $244.56.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on 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 Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

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.