Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,119 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $26,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $1,336,805,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at $93,672,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 978,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 249,961 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $70,948,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $49,539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:AIT traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $297.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 133,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.17. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $238.72 and a 1 year high of $374.80.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.05%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CFO David K. Wells sold 1,812 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total value of $643,441.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,380,955. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter C. Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $648,216.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,782,346.55. The trade was a 7.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AIT shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $400.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.00.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. distributes industrial products and provides engineering and related services to manufacturers and other industrial customers. Its offerings include bearings, power-transmission components, fluid-power products, automation equipment and general maintenance, repair and operations supplies. The company also provides technical support, engineering, systems integration, repair and inventory-management services. These capabilities help customers maintain equipment, improve production processes and manage the supply of industrial components.