Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $18.92 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,148 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.21% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $18,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of AIT stock opened at $208.11 on Tuesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.68 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $242.30 and a 200-day moving average of $246.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.