Polen Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,352 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,352 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $4,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $224.90 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $251.03 and a 200 day moving average of $243.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

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.