SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $781,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $225.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm's 50 day moving average is $227.88 and its 200 day moving average is $240.17. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $182.21 and a 1 year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AIT shares. 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. KeyCorp decreased their target price 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

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.

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