Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Bought by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Barclays PLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during 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. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $32,233,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,279,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,591,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $245.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $258.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.68. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.50 and a 12-month high of $282.98.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.10%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AIT shares. Loop Capital raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp upped 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.71.

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.