Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Invests $217,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $593,000. American International Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 232.6% during the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 69,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,809,000 after purchasing an additional 48,883 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $1,279,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $790,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $273.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.94. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.47 and a 52-week high of $276.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. StockNews.com raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.43.

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.