Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,861 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,221 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $9,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital cut their price target on 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 reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT traded down $1.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $221.73. The stock had a trading volume of 40,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,709. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $226.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 1,500,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.