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

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 144,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,549 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $34,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $229.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $252.57 and its 200 day moving average is $242.72. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AIT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upgraded 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. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.