Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,254 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $5,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,690,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,518,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,452,000 after acquiring an additional 85,270 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $16,933,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 238,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,227,000 after purchasing an additional 58,140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $226.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $237.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.78. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS 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 $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average 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.