Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Price Target Raised to $260.00 at Oppenheimer

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its price objective boosted by Oppenheimer from $235.00 to $260.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $231.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $214.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.18. 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 has a twelve month low of $149.59 and a twelve month high of $240.45. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at $41,602,385.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.