Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.37 (NYSE:AIT)

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th.

Applied Industrial Technologies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Applied Industrial Technologies has a payout ratio of 15.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Applied Industrial Technologies to earn $10.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.1%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of AIT opened at $231.75 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $149.59 and a 1-year high of $240.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $214.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 23.55% and a net margin of 8.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AIT. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Loop Capital raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total value of $703,561.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $748,894.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 205,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,602,385.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.