Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Holdings Cut by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,864 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dundas Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $46,805,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,207,000 after acquiring an additional 107,365 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,590,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,690,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AIT opened at $270.50 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $250.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.05. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.50 and a 1-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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AIT. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

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.