Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company lowered its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $5,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Consolidated Planning Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $194.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 441,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,121. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.44. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.38 and a 52 week high of $201.76. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.51%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 650 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.71, for a total value of $127,861.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,516,461.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.