Fruth Investment Management Cuts Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Fruth Investment Management reduced its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Applied Industrial Technologies makes up 1.4% of Fruth Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Fruth Investment Management owned 0.06% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $5,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,207,000 after buying an additional 107,365 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $213,590,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $13,034,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.8 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $264.84 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $256.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.67. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 14.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AIT. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.