Blue Trust Inc. Trims Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $265.11 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.96. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.43.

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.