Cerity Partners LLC Grows Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,458 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.10% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $6,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIT. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 2,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 9,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.0% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AIT. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $189.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a current ratio of 3.74. The company has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.24 and a fifty-two week high of $201.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.93.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.13. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.53%.

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.