B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 16,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,591,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $593,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,279,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $4,775,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. This trade represents a 14.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Loop Capital upped their price target 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. Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.86.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.1 %

AIT opened at $265.96 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.47 and a fifty-two week high of $276.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $232.93 and its 200 day moving average is $209.58.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.10%.

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.