Alps Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.06% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $5,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $304,452,000 after purchasing an additional 85,270 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $254,182,000 after purchasing an additional 20,842 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,690,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 56,732 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 471,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,870,000 after purchasing an additional 33,842 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT traded up $3.04 on Monday, hitting $256.95. 432,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,867. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.71 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $231.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.56. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.91.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AIT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

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.