Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 4,538 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 176,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,538 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.46% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $42,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock traded up $4.71 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $227.52. The company had a trading volume of 43,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,304. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $226.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.35 and a 52 week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The company 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 8.62% 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AIT. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 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 report 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.