Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.16% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $14,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,207,000 after buying an additional 107,365 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $13,034,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $12,897,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $250.79 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $253.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.73%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

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.