Northcoast Research Begins Coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT)

Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AIT. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an outperform rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $201.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT opened at $191.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.88. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1 year low of $138.38 and a 1 year high of $201.76. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 22,960 shares in the company, valued at $4,516,461.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $4,775,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $231,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $178,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.2% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 20,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.