Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Lowers Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 236,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,918 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $56,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $233.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.79. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. 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 set a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.