6,146 Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Purchased by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,472,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,233,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,518,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,034,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,897,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $228.43 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $249.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.51. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect 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 is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.