Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $285.71.

Several research analysts have weighed in on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.4 %

AIT opened at $260.36 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.65. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $173.73 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

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

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AIT. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 252.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 160.6% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 3,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 2,409 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.