Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 78.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,264 shares during the quarter. Applied Industrial Technologies makes up approximately 1.7% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AIT. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,271,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,452,000 after purchasing an additional 85,270 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $254,182,000 after acquiring an additional 20,842 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $129,690,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,315,000 after acquiring an additional 56,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AIT shares. 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT opened at $226.99 on Monday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $182.21 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.99.

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, beating 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 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.47%.

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.