Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of 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. Raymond James reiterated 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 3.1 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $236.62 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.85.

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 forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.64%.

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.