Legato Capital Management LLC Has $659,000 Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 72.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT traded up $1.97 during trading on Monday, reaching $265.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 154,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,983. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $254.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.99. The company has a market capitalization 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 quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase 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 is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AIT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.