Bridges Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.6% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $218.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $204.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The company has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.59 and a 1-year high of $224.36.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on 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 lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.