Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. This trade represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $244.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $259.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.99. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.39 and a 1 year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued 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 currently 15.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.