Brokerages Set Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Target Price at $285.71

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $291.43.

AIT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $263.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $257.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.96. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $176.32 and a 1-year high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.10%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $84,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.