Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Buys New Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 28,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,467,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 160.6% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 3,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,409 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $236.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $226.47 and its 200 day moving average is $245.86. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.35 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.00.

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.