Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,867 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,602,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,233,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,518,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,034,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $12,897,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AIT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.29.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Applied Industrial Technologies
Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance
AIT traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $232.79. The company had a trading volume of 258,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,509. The business has a 50-day moving average of $247.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $244.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 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. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08.
Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend
The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.
About Applied Industrial Technologies
(
Free Report)
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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