Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Given New $290.00 Price Target at Loop Capital

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its price target decreased by Loop Capital from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $221.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.46. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52 week low of $177.68 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.