Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,842 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.77% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $254,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $129,690,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,139,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,518,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 238,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,227,000 after acquiring an additional 58,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 279,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,847,000 after acquiring an additional 45,489 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $211.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $243.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.89.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase 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 0.87%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AIT. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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 Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.