Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 38.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $3,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $593,000. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 232.6% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 69,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,809,000 after purchasing an additional 48,883 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.3% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 185,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,606,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,876.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $220.32 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.59 and a twelve month high of $226.23.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AIT. Loop Capital increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.00.

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.