Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 125,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 34,594 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $21,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.4% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 4,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $306,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 9,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total value of $364,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $180.89 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.24 and a 1 year high of $201.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.59. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.69% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.51%.

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.