Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,950 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research 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, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $260.33. The company had a trading volume of 336,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,634. The company has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $256.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.67. 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 (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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. 1.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.