Values First Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Values First Advisors Inc. raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 189.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 965 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $84,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their target price 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. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $259.95 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a PEG 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $255.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.61.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

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.