Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $291.43.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIT. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AIT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $129,690,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $84,139,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,145,000 after purchasing an additional 206,220 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $32,233,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 404,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,934,000 after purchasing an additional 134,975 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $245.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $253.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.55. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a positive change from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.64%.

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.