Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Raises Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 78.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,967 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,264 shares during the quarter. Applied Industrial Technologies comprises approximately 1.7% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 85,270 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $254,182,000 after purchasing an additional 20,842 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,803,000 after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $129,690,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $122,315,000 after buying an additional 56,732 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered 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 note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT traded up $7.46 on Thursday, hitting $232.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 729,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,460. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $228.45 and a 200-day moving average of $238.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $182.21 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.