GW&K Investment Management LLC Acquires 17,705 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 28.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,705 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.21% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $17,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AIT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,690,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34,002.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 318,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $716,990,000 after buying an additional 317,247 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,145,000 after purchasing an additional 206,220 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,934,000 after acquiring an additional 134,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,518,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.3%

AIT stock traded up $3.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $271.64. The stock had a trading volume of 92,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,451. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $238.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.77. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.91. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.71 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 firm 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 business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

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.