Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 375,216 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session's volume of 340,756 shares.The stock last traded at $250.62 and had previously closed at $249.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James lifted 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 assumed coverage on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $258.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The company has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.08.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.10%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $32,233,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth $1,279,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $3,591,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 126.0% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares in 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.