Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 1,656 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.38% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $32,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in 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. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Loop Capital lowered their price target 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. KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $2.03 on Friday, reaching $253.92. 344,991 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,920. The company has a fifty day moving average of $231.65 and a 200-day moving average of $237.61. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.71 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.47%.

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

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.