Trexquant Investment LP Buys 5,868 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,868 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $5,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $129,690,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,139,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $25,518,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 238,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,227,000 after buying an additional 58,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 279,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,847,000 after acquiring an additional 45,489 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of AIT stock opened at $211.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $243.16 and a 200 day moving average of $245.67.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIT. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities 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, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average 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.