Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Boosts Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 379,460 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned about 0.99% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $90,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,067 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price target 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 reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital cut 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $232.89 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $226.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.96. The firm has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.35 and a 12-month high of $282.98.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm 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 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management 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.

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