Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 36,755 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 491,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 36,755 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $117,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,542,000 after buying an additional 34,113 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,181,000 after acquiring an additional 40,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $129,690,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $84,139,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $216.83 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $244.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.65.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed 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. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.