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

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,776,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $224.83 on Monday. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.28.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (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, equities research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. 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. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.