Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 627,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 43,999 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 1.64% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $150,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,238,000 after purchasing an additional 29,288 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,540,000 after buying an additional 9,667 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $222.06 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.57.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.14.

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.