Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $250.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Applied Industrial Technologies traded as high as $234.93 and last traded at $234.25, with a volume of 74323 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $234.39.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on AIT. Bank of America began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $232.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $211.77 and its 200-day moving average is $199.97.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.69 earnings per share for the current year.

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.