Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 58.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AIT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,139,000. Dundas Partners LLP acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at $46,805,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,207,000 after buying an additional 107,365 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $213,590,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $252.92 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $166.37 and a one year high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $260.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.05.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.10%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % 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 Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AIT shares. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.