Fox Hill Wealth Management Trims Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Fox Hill Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 414 shares during the quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $32,233,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $3,591,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,667 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $224.48 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.68 and a 12-month high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $250.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.71. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.29.

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.