B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New $3.59 Million Investment in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,591,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $593,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,279,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $1,928,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter worth $4,775,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. The trade was a 14.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $265.96 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.47 and a 1 year high of $276.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $232.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.58. The firm has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.86.

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.