Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.23% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $20,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,542,000 after acquiring an additional 34,113 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,181,000 after purchasing an additional 40,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $84,139,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 366,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $87,698,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $233.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $247.93 and a 200 day moving average of $244.79.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.