Boston Trust Walden Corp Lowers Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 498,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,678 shares during the period. Applied Industrial Technologies comprises 0.8% of Boston Trust Walden Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 1.30% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $112,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 20,842 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $136,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $129,690,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 56,732 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AIT shares. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial 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. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $226.99. 494,585 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.57. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $182.21 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $227.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.85.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 8.64%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

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

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.