Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys New Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,219,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AIT. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $381,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,892 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,242,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 953.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,766 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 15,174 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $1.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $223.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 320,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,184. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.35 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.80 and a 200-day moving average of $245.70.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. The company's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital reduced 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. KeyCorp dropped 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.