Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Invests $211,000 in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% in 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 buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.6% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 7,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.71, for a total value of $127,861.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 22,960 shares in the company, valued at $4,516,461.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:AIT opened at $215.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $194.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.30. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.38 and a 52 week high of $216.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.06.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted 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 8.36% and a return on equity of 23.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

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.