Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 73,172 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 502,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 73,172 shares during the quarter. Applied Industrial Technologies accounts for about 0.8% of Boston Trust Walden Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 1.31% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $120,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AIT. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 6,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,839 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,279,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho initiated 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.43.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $267.70. The stock had a trading volume of 289,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 343,225. 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 50 day simple moving average of $256.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.88. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.68 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.99%.

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.