Grace & White Inc. NY Sells 3,800 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Grace & White Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,016 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. Applied Industrial Technologies makes up about 6.6% of Grace & White Inc. NY's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Grace & White Inc. NY owned 0.38% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $35,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AIT. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $84,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $114,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE AIT traded up $1.97 on Friday, hitting $265.11. The stock had a trading volume of 154,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,983. The business's fifty day moving average price is $254.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 annualized dividend 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp increased 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.43.

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.