Vest Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,440 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,254,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AIT shares. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital cut their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded up $2.81 on Friday, hitting $231.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,042. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.51. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.35 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 18.47%.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.