Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) to Issue $0.37 Quarterly Dividend

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th.

Applied Industrial Technologies has raised its dividend by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Applied Industrial Technologies has a dividend payout ratio of 15.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Applied Industrial Technologies to earn $10.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.1%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $231.75 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $149.59 and a fifty-two week high of $240.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $214.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AIT. Bank of America started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $232.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating 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. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

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.