Versant Capital Management Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 1,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $245.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $258.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $163.50 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.10%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.71.

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.