Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Stock Position Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 142,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,811 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $34,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,207,000 after purchasing an additional 107,365 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,590,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,034,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This trade represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $245.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.85. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.