Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 192.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $217,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $904,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 5,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 30.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT stock opened at $226.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $252.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.03. The company has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.