Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Announces $0.46 Quarterly Dividend

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 25th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.46 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th.

Applied Industrial Technologies has a payout ratio of 17.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Applied Industrial Technologies to earn $10.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.1%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $233.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,331,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,918. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $182.21 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.51 and a current ratio of 3.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $228.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.93.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 8.64%. The business's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $318,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,162,000 after buying an additional 10,863 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 381,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,897,000 after buying an additional 14,926 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback 1,500,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital cut their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

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.