Analysts Set Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Price Target at $284.29

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $284.29.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AIT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 202,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,667 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 46,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,053,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,238,000 after buying an additional 29,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:AIT opened at $226.31 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $177.68 and a one year high of $282.98. The company has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $236.21 and a 200-day moving average of $245.67.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 18.64%.

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.