Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,907 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.22% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $19,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,690,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $25,518,000. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 worth $304,452,000 after purchasing an additional 85,270 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 238,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,227,000 after purchasing an additional 58,140 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 279,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,847,000 after purchasing an additional 45,489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AIT shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $226.40 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.78. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. 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.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 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.