Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 54.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,835 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,835 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,452,000 after buying an additional 85,270 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $254,182,000 after acquiring an additional 20,842 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $129,690,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $122,315,000 after purchasing an additional 56,732 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AIT shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. KeyCorp dropped their target price 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, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AIT traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $225.85. 439,309 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,717. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $182.21 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.88 and a 200 day moving average of $240.17. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management 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.