Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $22.15 Million Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $22,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. 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. KeyCorp raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 1.1 %

AIT opened at $267.70 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 14.99%.

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.