1,172 Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Acquired by Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,172 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $129,690,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% in the fourth 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 grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,934,000 after buying an additional 134,975 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,518,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,452,000 after acquiring an additional 85,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $227.79. 723,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,559. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.35 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.12. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during 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 was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIT. Loop Capital decreased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

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.