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

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $261.43.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho began 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 Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AIT traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 273,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,799. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.94. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $155.47 and a fifty-two week high of $276.15.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The business's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 15.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 19,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 630,915 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $122,398,000 after purchasing an additional 7,720 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $127,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $46,805,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 28.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 221,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,495,000 after purchasing an additional 49,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 204,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,659,000 after buying an additional 31,514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.