Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 227,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.59% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $51,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AIT. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter worth about $781,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 41.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 4,312 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 20.2% during the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 16,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,689,000 after buying an additional 2,749 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:AIT traded down $3.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $229.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,043. The company has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.93. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.35 and a 12 month high of $282.98. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.96.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Equities 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 repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their target price on 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. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate 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.