Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Buys New Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% during 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. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AIT shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $230.26 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $249.72 and a 200 day moving average of $243.62. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

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

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.