Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on AIT. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $232.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AIT opened at $231.32 on Tuesday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $149.59 and a one year high of $240.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $214.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53. The company has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,221.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is 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.