GWN Securities Inc. Invests $220,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,602,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,993,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 75,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,104,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,092,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird raised 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT opened at $227.14 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $250.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results 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, analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

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.