WCM Investment Management LLC Has $20.08 Million Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

WCM Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,992 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $20,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AIT. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT stock opened at $262.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $255.67 and a 200-day moving average of $235.49. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.68 and a 12-month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, 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 value of $605,176.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.