Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $7,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AIT. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,053,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.7%

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $236.01 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.35 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $226.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.86. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current 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 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AIT. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.