Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,300 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned about 0.11% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $10,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $129,690,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,145,000 after acquiring an additional 206,220 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,934,000 after acquiring an additional 134,975 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,518,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,452,000 after buying an additional 85,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $229.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.79. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.35 and a 1-year high of $282.98. 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 (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AIT. StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

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.