Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 28,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,467,000. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. owned 0.07% of Applied Industrial Technologies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,067 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AIT shares. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their price target 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 price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.76. 61,879 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,669. 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 capitalization of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $226.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.63. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 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 the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.