Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Bought by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 142,200.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AIT. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $229.22 on Thursday. 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 cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.17. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.35 and a 12-month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.47%.

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.