Martingale Asset Management L P Reduces Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,480 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $250,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $9,543,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,452,000 after acquiring an additional 85,270 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 12.8 %

NYSE:AIT opened at $232.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $239.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.59.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock 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. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.