Advisors Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,313 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $862,000. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 18,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352 shares in the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,602,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $224.83 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 company has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.65.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp dropped 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.29.

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.