Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors lessened its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 559,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,781 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 1.46% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $133,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,452,000 after buying an additional 85,270 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,182,000 after purchasing an additional 20,842 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $129,690,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,934,000 after buying an additional 134,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company 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. Raymond James restated 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. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $221.94 on Monday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $233.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.79. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. Research 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. 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 0.83%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.