Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives $261.43 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $267.86.

AIT has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $266.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.03. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $155.47 and a 1-year high of $276.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 2.74.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 $4,037,221.30. This trade represents a 14.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,602,385.92. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116. Company insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $593,000. American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 232.6% in 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. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $1,279,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at $790,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.