Grace & White Inc. NY Cuts Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Grace & White Inc. NY cut its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the period. Applied Industrial Technologies makes up 6.6% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $35,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $32,233,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $3,591,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $259.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.61. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 14.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.