Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 10,967 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,967 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.31% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $28,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $279,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 123.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 40,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,936,000 after purchasing an additional 22,089 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at $226,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $714,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of AIT stock opened at $233.16 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.79. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost 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

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.29.

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.