Fmr LLC Sells 300,413 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

FMR LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,643,730 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 300,413 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 4.28% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $393,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,540,000 after buying an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,053,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,238,000 after acquiring an additional 29,288 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT traded down $5.00 on Wednesday, reaching $221.15. 89,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,886. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.67. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AIT. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.29.

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.