BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 47.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,398 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.05% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $4,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.5 %

AIT stock opened at $277.13 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $245.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.05. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.19 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AIT. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

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.