Ritholtz Wealth Management Cuts Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 963.2% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $197.71. 304,328 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 362,046. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.87 and a 200-day moving average of $170.36. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $122.24 and a one year high of $201.76. The firm has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 2.59.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.13. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 15.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total value of $364,680.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.