Brokerages Set Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Target Price at $284.29

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $284.29.

A number of analysts recently commented on AIT shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AIT traded down $5.47 on Friday, reaching $220.68. 10,845 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,895. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $177.68 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $236.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.67.

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Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AIT. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 39.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 96.7% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,537,000 after buying an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

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.