Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 2,749 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 20.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. 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 research report on Thursday, April 17th. KeyCorp reduced their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:AIT opened at $233.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $226.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 1,500,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.