Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Purchased by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 286.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,640 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $129,690,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $84,139,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $25,518,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 238,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,227,000 after acquiring an additional 58,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 279,144 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,847,000 after acquiring an additional 45,489 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.29.

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Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:AIT traded up $26.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.47. 560,274 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 286,177. 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 company has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $239.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.59. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 yield of 0.79%. 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 (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

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.