Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Invests $242,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,072,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $875,912,000 after buying an additional 14,858 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 630,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,398,000 after buying an additional 7,720 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 978.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 559,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,646,000 after buying an additional 507,750 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 519,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,665,000 after buying an additional 15,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $72,436,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,221.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at $41,602,385.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,221.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AIT opened at $218.77 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $204.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.47. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.59 and a twelve month high of $224.36. The stock has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.12. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.00.

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.