Wedbush Securities Inc. Raises Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aviva PLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 2,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,347,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 54,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,072,000 after purchasing an additional 8,712 shares during the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $5,734,000. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $232.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given 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 yield of 0.79%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. KeyCorp cut 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, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

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.