Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.48% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $127,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dundas Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $46,805,000. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,207,000 after purchasing an additional 107,365 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $213,590,000. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,690,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 144,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,269,000 after purchasing an additional 57,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This represents a 20.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $278.57 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.23. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.47 and a 12-month high of $282.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.86.

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.