Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Stake Raised by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 508,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,585 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 1.31% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $87,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,001,286 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $718,751,000 after acquiring an additional 459,302 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,863,708 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $499,893,000 after purchasing an additional 136,174 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 38.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,625,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,329,000 after purchasing an additional 451,876 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,383,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $142,156,000 after buying an additional 10,144 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 15.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 750,914 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,099,000 after buying an additional 98,144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total value of $364,680.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of AIT traded down $3.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $192.21. 264,047 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 347,531. The company has a current ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.24 and a 1 year high of $201.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $189.26 and its 200-day moving average is $172.94.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.13. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 8.39%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AIT. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.25.

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.