1,364 Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Bought by Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $227.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $250.57 and a 200-day moving average of $243.58. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.