Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Has $1.64 Million Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,542,000 after acquiring an additional 34,113 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,181,000 after acquiring an additional 40,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $84,139,000. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.3% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 277,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,710 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $260.24 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.32 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.58.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.67% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIT. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.