CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Purchases 1,584 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,778 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.08% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $7,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted 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 buying an additional 9,667 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $11,053,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,238,000 after acquiring 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

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AIT. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE AIT opened at $222.06 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 18.64%.

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.

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