Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 9,737 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 122.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,737 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $4,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AIT. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $224.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.71. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.