Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 4,259 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,259 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.24% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $20,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.2% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $262.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $253.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.50 and a 52-week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

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.