Applied Industrial Technologies’ (AIT) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $265.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $250.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 3.5 %

AIT stock opened at $263.46 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.96. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $176.32 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.08.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. Equities analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the 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 owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $84,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.