Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Now Covered by Analysts at Raymond James

Raymond James began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $225.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, August 24th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $223.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $198.56 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $200.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.97. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $149.59 and a 12 month high of $223.15.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the completion of 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the firm’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 directly 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. Insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $593,000. American International Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 232.6% during the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 69,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,809,000 after purchasing an additional 48,883 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.3% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 185,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,606,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,967,000 after acquiring an additional 6,775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.