Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,689 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,974 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,689 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned 0.25% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $22,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $129,690,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,145,000 after buying an additional 206,220 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,934,000 after acquiring an additional 134,975 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,518,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,452,000 after purchasing an additional 85,270 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AIT shares. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on 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 lowered their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $222.32. 57,199 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 307,769. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.35 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $226.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $245.63. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during 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%. Applied Industrial Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities 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, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 18.47%.

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

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.