Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $229.00.

AIT has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,221.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock worth $2,439,116 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AIT. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% during the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,374,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.6% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $223.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $205.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.44. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1 year low of $149.59 and a 1 year high of $226.31. The company has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.12. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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.