Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,542,000 after buying an additional 34,113 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $254,182,000 after purchasing an additional 20,842 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $136,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,690,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth $84,139,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $236.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $245.04 and a 200-day moving average of $245.85. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 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 analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

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.