Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires New Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 139.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 32,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after buying an additional 18,752 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 2,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $227.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $250.57 and a 200 day moving average of $243.58.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

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.