Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 74.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 289,082 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $24,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,452,000 after purchasing an additional 85,270 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $254,182,000 after buying an additional 20,842 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $136,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $129,690,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $122,315,000 after acquiring an additional 56,732 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AIT stock traded down $2.02 on Tuesday, hitting $231.27. 25,993 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $226.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.96. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.35 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The company's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.