American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 343,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45,869 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $66,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $203.98 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $201.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.53. The firm has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $149.59 and a one year high of $223.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.86 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.00.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,221.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.