HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 1,124 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.3% during the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 277,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,710 shares during the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,805,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 221,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,495,000 after purchasing an additional 49,500 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 204,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,659,000 after acquiring an additional 31,514 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:AIT opened at $254.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.80. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.50 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

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

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.