Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Acquired by Paralel Advisors LLC

Paralel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 4.2 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $9.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $222.33. The company had a trading volume of 7,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,100. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $239.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.29.

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.