Dundas Partners LLP Buys 306 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Dundas Partners LLP raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the quarter. Dundas Partners LLP’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AIT opened at $229.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.45.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AIT. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. Bank of America raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.