Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Short Interest Update

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 616,700 shares, a growth of 10.8% from the November 30th total of 556,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 256,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $239.47. 195,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,257. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $257.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.17. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $163.50 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. The trade was a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. The trade was a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% 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.