Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $327,000 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) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the fourth 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. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $4.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $228.92. The company had a trading volume of 356,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,181. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.96. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.35 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication 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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Loop Capital decreased their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

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.