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

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,292 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.08% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $7,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 31.1% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.5% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 92,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,784,000 after buying an additional 8,006 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 44.5% in the first quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 23,835 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,371,000 after buying an additional 7,345 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 26.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $245.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,834. The company has a quick ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.91. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $182.21 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.24.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 8.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AIT shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

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.