Deutsche Bank AG Sells 7,170 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Deutsche Bank AG lowered its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,989 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,170 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.17% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $15,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $129,690,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,145,000 after acquiring an additional 206,220 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,934,000 after acquiring an additional 134,975 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,518,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT stock traded down $2.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $227.33. 30,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 377,793. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.85. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.35 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.