Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,774 shares during the quarter. Applied Industrial Technologies comprises about 1.5% of VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. VELA Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $5,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT traded down $10.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.43. The stock had a trading volume of 485,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,619. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AIT. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.43.

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.