Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $380.00.

AIT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Peter Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $648,216.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,782,346.55. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David Wells sold 1,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total value of $643,441.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,380,955. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $11,368,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 39.9% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares during the period. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 69.7% in the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $348,000. Finally, OneAscent Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC now owns 778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $301.80 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $238.72 and a fifty-two week high of $374.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $321.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.87.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.05%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. distributes industrial products and provides engineering and related services to manufacturers and other industrial customers. Its offerings include bearings, power-transmission components, fluid-power products, automation equipment and general maintenance, repair and operations supplies. The company also provides technical support, engineering, systems integration, repair and inventory-management services. These capabilities help customers maintain equipment, improve production processes and manage the supply of industrial components.