Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Trims Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC cut its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 58.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 705 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.4 %

AIT stock opened at $229.89 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $252.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.72.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.