Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $239.94 and last traded at $237.00, with a volume of 175172 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $223.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AIT shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set 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 report on Tuesday. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 5.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.68.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,602,385.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AIT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.9% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.