Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives $201.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $201.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on AIT. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 650 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.71, for a total transaction of $127,861.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,516,461.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 978.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 559,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,646,000 after acquiring an additional 507,750 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $72,436,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 176.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,181,000 after acquiring an additional 197,552 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter worth about $39,093,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $27,043,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $205.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $195.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.43. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52-week low of $138.38 and a 52-week high of $223.15.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.51%.

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.