Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Research Coverage Started at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an outperform rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE AIT opened at $191.35 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.10 and its 200 day moving average is $185.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.06. Applied Industrial Technologies has a twelve month low of $138.38 and a twelve month high of $201.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 23.69%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.71, for a total transaction of $127,861.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,516,461.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 978.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 559,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,646,000 after acquiring an additional 507,750 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,436,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 176.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,181,000 after buying an additional 197,552 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at $39,093,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $27,043,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.