Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Buys 45,307 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 27.8%, purchasing an additional 45,307 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.54% valued at $46.9 million.
• A share buyback program was initiated allowing Applied Industrial Technologies to repurchase up to 1.5 million outstanding shares, a sign that the company may believe its stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 15th and an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 27.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,307 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.54% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $46,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIT. Loop Capital lowered their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $263.07. 280,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 329,249. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $189.18 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $247.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.57.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.47%.

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.