Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Acquired by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 315.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,393 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,238,000 after purchasing an additional 29,288 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AIT. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AIT stock traded up $2.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.81. 299,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,122. The stock has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.35 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $228.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.11.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has initiated a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.64%.

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.