Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $285.71.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AIT. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $245.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $163.50 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $258.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.94.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.10%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.4% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,505,000 after buying an additional 2,803 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2,609.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $885,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 128,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 23,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,565,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.