Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 13,549 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,549 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.38% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $34,636,000 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 the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,803,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 192.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $190,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AIT opened at $229.89 on Monday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. 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 market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $252.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.72.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change 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

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.