Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 73,172 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 502,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 73,172 shares during the period. Applied Industrial Technologies makes up about 0.8% of Boston Trust Walden Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 1.31% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $120,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 6,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,279,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. Mizuho started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lifted 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. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This trade represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $260.24 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.32 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

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.