Brokerages Set Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) PT at $285.00

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $285.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. KeyCorp lowered 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AIT. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 111.1% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 133 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded up $5.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $229.84. The stock had a trading volume of 109,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,319. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1 year low of $181.35 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $226.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.36. The stock has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. The firm's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.47%.

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.