Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 96,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 911 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $18,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Loop Capital increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.67.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $207.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.04. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.59 and a 12-month high of $223.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.