Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,751 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $8,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $16,537,000 after acquiring an additional 45,224 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $32,233,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 9,667 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $1,776,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE AIT opened at $224.83 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.