Pier Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Pier Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,795 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,560 shares during the period. Applied Industrial Technologies comprises approximately 1.3% of Pier Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Pier Capital LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $9,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AIT. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,069 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,533 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,776,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $127,032,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT traded down $6.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $225.57. 274,627 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 278,401. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $246.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.23. 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 data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a boost 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 is 18.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AIT. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (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 research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.29.

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.