Dark Forest Capital Management LP Invests $327,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 285.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 10,749 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $440,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 315.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,393 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 43,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,530,000 after buying an additional 3,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $517,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.79. 723,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,811. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $228.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.20. 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 capitalization of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.35 and a 1-year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 18.64%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped 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 dropped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently 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.