Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Position Trimmed by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. EULAV Asset Management boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 55,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 4,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 252.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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 lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

Insider Activity

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $262.39 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $255.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.68 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.99%.

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.