Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Short Interest Down 5.6% in October

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 541,900 shares, a decrease of 5.6% from the October 15th total of 573,800 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 244,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $267.40. 194,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,220. Applied Industrial Technologies has a twelve month low of $155.47 and a twelve month high of $276.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $230.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This represents a 20.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.86.

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.