Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an outperform rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $223.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $193.61 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $149.59 and a fifty-two week high of $223.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $200.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted 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. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 15.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $1,279,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.1% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.