Homestead Advisers Corp Has $8.29 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Homestead Advisers Corp reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,900 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $8,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 33,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 238,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,227,000 after buying an additional 58,140 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 12,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 12,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after buying an additional 4,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FCA Corp TX bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $545,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $233.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $247.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $244.79. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results 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%. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. 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.