Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $6.01 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Granite Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $6,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,072,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $875,912,000 after purchasing an additional 14,858 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 630,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,398,000 after acquiring an additional 7,720 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 978.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 559,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,646,000 after purchasing an additional 507,750 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 519,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,665,000 after purchasing an additional 15,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $72,436,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,221.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $218.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.59 and a 12 month high of $224.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $204.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.38.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.12. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.86 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.00.

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.