Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $291.43.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 186 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 6.3 %

AIT stock traded down $16.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $247.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 121,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Applied Industrial Technologies has a twelve month low of $177.68 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $254.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.64%.

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.