Spire Wealth Management Increases Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 252.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:AIT traded down $5.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $262.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 227,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,983. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.49.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.43.

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.