Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $327,000 Investment in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,053,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 160.6% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 3,909 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 2,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,760 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $222.98. 272,715 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,263. The business's fifty day moving average is $226.69 and its 200-day moving average is $245.54. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.35 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AIT. KeyCorp lowered their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

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.