Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $400.00.

AIT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $355.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $317.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David K. Wells sold 1,812 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total value of $643,441.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,050 shares in the company, valued at $11,380,955. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter C. Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $648,216.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,782,346.55. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $1,336,805,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 978,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after buying an additional 249,961 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 962,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $247,250,000 after buying an additional 195,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 687,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,479,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $125,044,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.6%

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $317.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.58. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $238.34 and a fifty-two week high of $374.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.19.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 8.35%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.650-12.150 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 11.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.61%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc (NYSE: AIT) is a distributor and value-added service provider for industrial and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) markets. The company supplies products used to keep manufacturing, processing, infrastructure and other industrial operations running, including bearings, power-transmission components, industrial motion products, fluid power equipment, hose and fittings, industrial rubber products, safety supplies and automation components.

In addition to product distribution, Applied Industrial Technologies provides engineering, design, fabrication, repair, assembly, technical support and other application-focused services.