Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. sold 113,063 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., reducing its position by 10.4% in the first quarter, now holding 976,895 shares valued at approximately $220 million.
• With 93.52% of Applied Industrial Technologies' stock owned by institutional investors, other funds like MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust and Harbor Investment Advisory significantly increased their stakes.
• The firm has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an upcoming ex-dividend date of August 15th, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 976,895 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 113,063 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.57% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $220,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $716,990,000 after purchasing an additional 317,247 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 valued at $74,145,000 after purchasing an additional 206,220 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,934,000 after purchasing an additional 134,975 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,518,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2,936.6% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,587,000 after purchasing an additional 66,984 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.86.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.7%

AIT traded up $4.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $259.29. 117,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 410,887. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.94. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $191.31 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.