Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Purchases 14,555 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 31.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,710 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,555 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $13,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during 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 last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $225.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $227.67 and a 200 day moving average of $240.93. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.21 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is presently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on 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. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (down previously 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.

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