1,366 Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake 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 Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% in 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. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $229.22. The stock had a trading volume of 202,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,090. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.17. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.35 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The company's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AIT shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James 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, Loop Capital dropped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.