Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT opened at $261.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.61. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $173.73 and a one year high of $282.98.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

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

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.