28,257 Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 28,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,767,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Applied Industrial Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,233,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,034,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,897,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $224.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $251.03 and a 200 day moving average of $243.41.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 0.82%. 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.