Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Stock Position Boosted by Fiera Capital Corp

Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 456.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,895 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 107,365 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.34% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $29,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,177 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,294 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,661,000 after purchasing an additional 7,228 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,268,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AIT. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $261.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AIT traded up $3.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $268.23. 360,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,476. The business's 50-day moving average price is $222.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.12. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.47 and a twelve month high of $269.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 15.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,876.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.