Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $6.77 Million Investment in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 28,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,767,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Applied Industrial Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AIT. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $240.55 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $253.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.90. The company has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.68 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

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.