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

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $267.86.

AIT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $267.40 on Tuesday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $155.47 and a 12 month high of $276.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $230.16 and its 200-day moving average is $208.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 EPS 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 $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. This represents a 14.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the 3rd 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. 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.