Meritage Portfolio Management Acquires 73 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,625,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,329,000 after purchasing an additional 451,876 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 96.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 425,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,755,000 after buying an additional 208,315 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 547,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,718,000 after buying an additional 128,629 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 241,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,094,000 after buying an additional 100,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 750,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,099,000 after buying an additional 98,144 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $180.34. 214,116 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 335,560. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $190.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.31. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.24 and a 1 year high of $201.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.