Aristides Capital LLC Acquires New Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of AIT opened at $211.16 on Monday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 18.64%.

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.