Maven Securities LTD Invests $381,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Maven Securities LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $254,182,000 after acquiring an additional 20,842 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $129,690,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $122,315,000 after buying an additional 56,732 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Raymond James reaffirmed 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. KeyCorp reduced 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.4%

Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $3.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $232.80. The stock had a trading volume of 43,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,541. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.35 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $226.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.96.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 1,500,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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 given 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 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.