NBC Securities Inc. Increases Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 142,200.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,846 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AIT. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,155,000 after acquiring an additional 8,760 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 12,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 4,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 31,328 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,723,000 after purchasing an additional 5,980 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp reduced 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded up $2.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $231.94. The company had a trading volume of 217,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,890. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.35 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $226.16 and a 200 day moving average of $242.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.