Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

AIT has been the topic of several other reports. KeyCorp increased 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 note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE AIT traded down $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $253.08. 265,608 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 394,001. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.23. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $166.37 and a 12 month high of $282.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The company's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third 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. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 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.

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