Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the four brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $201.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on AIT. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE AIT traded down $2.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $191.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 75,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,998. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $138.38 and a 12 month high of $201.76. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.55.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 23.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.51%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 650 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.71, for a total transaction of $127,861.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,516,461.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,072,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $875,912,000 after buying an additional 14,858 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 947,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $163,575,000 after buying an additional 21,276 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 625,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,009,000 after acquiring an additional 32,282 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 978.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 559,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,646,000 after acquiring an additional 507,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 559,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,540,000 after purchasing an additional 11,092 shares during the last quarter. 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.