Legato Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 72.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $114,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AIT opened at $263.25 on Friday. 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 $10.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $254.84 and a 200 day moving average of $236.77. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 18.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AIT. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This trade represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.