4,519 Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $224.83 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AIT shares. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

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.