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

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $223.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on AIT. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital upped their price objective 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 research report on Thursday, September 5th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 2.4 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $218.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.56. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $149.59 and a fifty-two week high of $224.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.55.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.86 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $41,602,385.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter worth about $593,000. American International Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 48,883 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 116.3% during 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 buying an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,967,000 after buying an additional 6,775 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.