United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $226,000 Investment in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,238,000 after buying an additional 29,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 3.3 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $214.36 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.73. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. 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 set a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.14.

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.