Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,254 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $5,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 85,270 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $136,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $129,690,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 366,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,698,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AIT. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $226.40 on Monday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $237.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.78. The stock has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.