ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

ProShare Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 about 0.11% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $9,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,067 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated 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. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE AIT traded down $4.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $228.92. The stock had a trading volume of 356,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,181. 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 cap of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $226.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.96. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.35 and a fifty-two week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has initiated a stock 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. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.47%.

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.