Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $52.16 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.57% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $52,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AIT. Creative Planning increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 27.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $213,590,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $114,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 note on Thursday, November 14th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE AIT traded down $18.09 on Friday, hitting $245.73. 385,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,272. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $254.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.85. The company has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. 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 results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 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.