California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 6,404 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,203 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $11,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 963.2% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 202 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:AIT traded up $4.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $184.63. 261,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 337,928. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.24 and a 52-week high of $201.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.05. The firm has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.70.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 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.