Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,061,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,842 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $254,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $211.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $243.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.89. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.29.

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.