KBC Group NV Grows Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. The trade was a 20.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $266.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $231.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.47 and a 52 week high of $276.97. 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 announced its 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. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AIT. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.86.

Applied Industrial Technologies Profile

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.