Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives $222.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $222.50.

Several brokerages have recently commented on AIT. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 24th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,602,385.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction 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. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $205.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $200.24 and a 200-day moving average of $193.90. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52 week low of $149.59 and a 52 week high of $223.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.12. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.51%.

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.