Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Acquired by Values First Advisors Inc.

Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 189.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $156,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $259.95 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $255.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.61. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Equities analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.99%.

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.