Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives $223.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $229.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AIT. Raymond James initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at $41,602,385.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $4,037,221.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at $41,602,385.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AIT. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $593,000. American International Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 232.6% during the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 69,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,809,000 after buying an additional 48,883 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 185,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,606,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 116.3% during the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 34,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.0 %

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $220.32 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $205.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.26. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52-week low of $149.59 and a 52-week high of $226.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 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 issued 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 net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

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.