Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires 100 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,207,000 after purchasing an additional 107,365 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,590,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,034,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT stock opened at $263.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.77. The stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98. 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 data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 18.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

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.