TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Buys 16,450 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,450 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $21,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,207,000 after acquiring an additional 107,365 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,590,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $13,034,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $265.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $254.17 and its 200-day moving average is $238.68.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 18.64%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

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

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.