Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Stock Price

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its price target lifted by Oppenheimer from $260.00 to $305.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho started coverage on 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. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.86.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $266.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.06. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $155.47 and a one year high of $276.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.10%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,037,221.30. This trade represents a 14.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 in the last 90 days. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $84,139,000. Dundas Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $46,805,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,207,000 after purchasing an additional 107,365 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $213,590,000. Hedge funds and other 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.