Palisade Capital Management LP Has $53.52 Million Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Palisade Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 237,520 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Applied Industrial Technologies comprises about 1.5% of Palisade Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Palisade Capital Management LP owned about 0.62% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $53,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,452,000 after buying an additional 85,270 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $254,182,000 after acquiring an additional 20,842 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $136,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,690,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $122,315,000 after purchasing an additional 56,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated 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. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Loop Capital cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:AIT traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $245.48. 307,741 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,074. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $229.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.48. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $182.21 and a 12 month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.47%.

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.