New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 8,448 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AIT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $129,690,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 33,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,125,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 238,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,227,000 after acquiring an additional 58,140 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 12,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 12,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after acquiring an additional 4,921 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE AIT opened at $225.57 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.23. 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 (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.