B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Cuts Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,050 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $84,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp decreased 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 note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $229.72 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $245.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.92.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.64%.

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.