127 Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Purchased by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 3,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 142,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James Investment Research Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 1,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $245.73 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 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 fifty day moving average price of $253.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.52.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AIT shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

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.