Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Price Target Raised to $245.00 at KeyCorp

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its price objective upped by KeyCorp from $215.00 to $245.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on AIT. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an outperform rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $229.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 2.7 %

AIT stock opened at $224.77 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.83. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $149.59 and a fifty-two week high of $226.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53. The company has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total value of $986,659.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AIT. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $39,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.