Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Position Boosted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 404,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134,975 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.05% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $96,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE:AIT opened at $221.94 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AIT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.14.

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.