CLEVELAND, Oct. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: AIT) today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per common share, payable on November 30, 2011, to shareholders of record on November 15, 2011.  

Additionally, Applied's Board of Directors today authorized the company to repurchase up to 1,500,000 shares of the company's common stock.  This authorization replaces the previous one under which 1,492,400 shares were purchased through September 30, 2011.  The new authorization represents approximately 3% of the shares currently outstanding.   These purchases can be made in open market and negotiated transactions, from time-to-time, depending upon market conditions.

With approximately 470 facilities and 4,600 employee associates across North America, Applied Industrial Technologies is an industrial distributor that offers more than 4 million parts critical to the operations of MRO and OEM customers in virtually every industry. In addition, Applied provides engineering, design and systems integration for industrial and fluid power applications, as well as customized mechanical, fabricated rubber and fluid power shop services. Applied also offers maintenance training, plus solutions to meet inventory and storeroom management needs that help provide enhanced value to its customers. For its fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, Applied posted sales of $2.2 billion.  Applied can be visited on the Internet at http://www.applied.com.

SOURCE Applied Industrial Technologies