Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Acquired by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $129,690,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34,002.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 318,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $716,990,000 after purchasing an additional 317,247 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,145,000 after purchasing an additional 206,220 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,934,000 after purchasing an additional 134,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $25,518,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AIT shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $232.06 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $228.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.57. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.21 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.47%.

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.