Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 150,274 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150,274 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.04% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $69,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AIT. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 38.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,625,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,329,000 after acquiring an additional 451,876 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 425,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,755,000 after purchasing an additional 208,315 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 547,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,718,000 after purchasing an additional 128,629 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 70.7% during the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 241,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,094,000 after buying an additional 100,100 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 15.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 750,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,099,000 after buying an additional 98,144 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $185.91 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $189.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.10. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $122.24 and a one year high of $201.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.