Zions Bancorporation N.A. Grows Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,776,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.3 %

AIT opened at $237.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $248.33 and its 200-day moving average is $244.87. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98.

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 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. 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. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AIT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

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.