Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 2,924 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,765 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,924 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $34,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $781,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $233.08. The company had a trading volume of 6,331,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,918. The business has a 50-day moving average of $228.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.30. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $182.21 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.93.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AIT. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on 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. Loop Capital cut their price target on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

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.