Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 457 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the firm’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 value of $703,561.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $218.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.56. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.59 and a 1 year high of $224.36. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $204.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.47.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIT. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. 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 target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.