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

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently 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 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $285.71.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $271.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.26. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $163.50 and a 12 month high of $282.98. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.05.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The business 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 business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.10%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.5% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 621.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 10,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.