Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 19,304 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,304 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.67% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $61,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:AIT traded up $3.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $236.01. The stock had a trading volume of 313,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,573. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.35 and a one year high of $282.98. 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 has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average is $226.47 and its 200-day moving average is $245.96.

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. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital cut their price objective 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 cut their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

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.