Bridges Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 111.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,846 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 31.1% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. KeyCorp reduced their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.8%

AIT traded down $2.03 on Friday, hitting $253.92. The company had a trading volume of 344,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,248. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $231.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.56. 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 12-month low of $188.71 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has approved a share 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 often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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.