Meritage Portfolio Management Acquires 456 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,542,000 after acquiring an additional 34,113 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,181,000 after purchasing an additional 40,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,139,000. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 277,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,710 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $264.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.68 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Research 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 $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 14.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital boosted 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

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.