Granite Investment Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Granite Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,254 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $5,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Barclays PLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,540,000 after acquiring an additional 9,667 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,238,000 after purchasing an additional 29,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AIT. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT traded up $6.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $221.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 489,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,853. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $233.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.64%.

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.