Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Has $22.98 Million Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 95,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,689 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $22,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during 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 position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $236.01 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.86. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.35 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp cut 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 restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

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.