Brokerages Set Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) PT at $261.43

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $267.86.

AIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total value of $748,894.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This represents a 20.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 in the last ninety days. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIT. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.7% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 85,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,172,000 after acquiring an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $227,000. Walleye Capital LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.4% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $714,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $271.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.04. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52 week low of $155.47 and a 52 week high of $276.97.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.10%.

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.