Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,689 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 95,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,689 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $22,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of AIT opened at $236.01 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.35 and a 52 week high of $282.98. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $226.47 and a 200-day moving average of $245.86.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.