Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $5.29 Million Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,091 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,338 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.06% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $5,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 45,224 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,667 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,238,000 after purchasing an additional 29,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James restated 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 reduced their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of AIT opened at $222.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.64%.

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.

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