Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Position Raised by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 285.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,749 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after buying an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,238,000 after acquiring an additional 29,288 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,667 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $242.98 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.35 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $229.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.13.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AIT. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.