Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Price Target Raised to $260.00

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its price target hoisted by Oppenheimer from $235.00 to $260.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $231.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $149.59 and a 1-year high of $240.45.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.51%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,602,385.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,602,385.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 9,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.1% during the third quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.