Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 375,216 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 340,756 shares.The stock last traded at $250.62 and had previously closed at $249.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AIT. Loop Capital raised 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 note on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Mizuho began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.64. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid 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 0.60%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total transaction of $605,176.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 18.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 204,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,659,000 after purchasing an additional 31,514 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $405,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.