Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Holdings Cut by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,221 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.11% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $9,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $129,690,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,145,000 after acquiring an additional 206,220 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,934,000 after acquiring an additional 134,975 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,518,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,452,000 after acquiring an additional 85,270 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $236.01 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.35 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.86. 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 (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 1,500,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.