Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 106,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,518,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $129,690,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,452,000 after buying an additional 85,270 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 32.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 58,140 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 279,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,847,000 after acquiring an additional 45,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $221.94 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $233.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.45. 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 company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. On average, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.14.

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.