Polaris Capital Management LLC Sells 2,300 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,300 shares during the quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $663,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. EULAV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 55,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the last quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 4,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $264.18. 65,421 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 311,136. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $254.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.96. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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 0.70%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.43.

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.