Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 6,399 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,399 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.65% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $59,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,041,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 2,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $1,347,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 54,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,072,000 after acquiring an additional 8,712 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.29.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $211.16 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.