EULAV Asset Management Raises Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

EULAV Asset Management grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 10,100 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $13,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,233,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $1,279,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,591,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AIT shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents 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 company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 2.0 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $262.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.11. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

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.