BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 18,398 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 47.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,778 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,398 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.05% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $4,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth $39,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $276.13. 84,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 285,142. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.13. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.19 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 15.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.