Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 34,939 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 57.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 34,939 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.07% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $4,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,895 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $233,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 580.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $287,000. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 4,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.82. 122,431 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 329,789. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $190.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The company has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.10. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.24 and a 52 week high of $201.76.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 23.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 15.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $201.00.

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.