Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Price Target Raised to $325.00

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its target price hoisted by KeyCorp from $275.00 to $325.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

AIT has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE AIT opened at $275.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52 week low of $162.19 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $247.43 and a 200-day moving average of $215.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.10%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $84,139,000. Dundas Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,805,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,207,000 after buying an additional 107,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $213,590,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.