Defined Financial Planning LLC Makes New $231,000 Investment in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Defined Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased 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. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE AIT opened at $226.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.