Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Hits New 12-Month High at $214.03

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $214.03 and last traded at $213.74, with a volume of 6382 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $209.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 2.3 %

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 company has a 50 day moving average of $193.83 and a 200-day moving average of $188.80. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.06.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.71, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently 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.