Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Bought by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,776,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.3 %

AIT stock opened at $237.53 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.87.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AIT shares. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.