Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Holdings Lifted by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 64,203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,087,000 after purchasing an additional 6,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AIT traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $180.34. 214,116 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,560. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.24 and a 12-month high of $201.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 3.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 8.39%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.53%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total value of $364,680.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,642.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.