Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 158,468 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.21% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $18,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 630,915 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $122,398,000 after acquiring an additional 7,720 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,805,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 28.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 221,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,495,000 after buying an additional 49,500 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 204,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,659,000 after buying an additional 31,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $39,093,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,876.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,876.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $231.30. The company had a trading volume of 302,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,076. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.59 and a 12-month high of $240.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $214.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.18. The stock has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

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.