Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,930 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.36% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $31,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $32,233,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,279,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,591,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.71.
View Our Latest Research Report on AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.0 %
Shares of NYSE:AIT traded up $2.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $243.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,013. The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $256.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.17. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.50 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.
Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.
Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.10%.
About Applied Industrial Technologies
(
Free Report)
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.
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