Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Receives $285.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $285.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT opened at $221.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.78. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $181.35 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.47%.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.