The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,729 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $10,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,233,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,279,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $3,591,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $277.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.19 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $245.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.05.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.