Aristides Capital LLC Buys New Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $211.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, 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 50 day simple moving average is $243.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.11.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AIT. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.