Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 2,148 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,148 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $18,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,540,000 after buying an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,053,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,238,000 after acquiring an additional 29,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 note on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $208.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.00. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year 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 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 return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

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.