Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,958 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $136,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% during 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. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,231,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $229.89 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $252.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.15. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AIT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.