Zhang Financial LLC Sells 3,000 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Zhang Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. This trade represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AIT stock traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $257.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,096. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $259.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.40. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $168.64 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.10%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.