Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.6 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $263.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $255.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.89. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

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.