Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Hits New 12-Month High at $224.36

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $224.36 and last traded at $224.12, with a volume of 292882 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $214.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $203.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.95. The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,602,385.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $1,279,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.1% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.