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

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on Applied Industrial Technologies: all seven covering firms rate the stock “Buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $400. Recent firms raised their targets to between $390 and $420.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: the company reported adjusted EPS of $3.17 versus a $2.92 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.5% year over year to $1.35 billion.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the stock, while insiders own 1.60%. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $400.00.

AIT has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CFO David K. Wells sold 1,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total transaction of $643,441.20. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter C. Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total transaction of $648,216.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,782,346.55. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $1,336,805,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $125,044,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,672,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $70,948,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $317.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $337.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.19. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $238.34 and a 1-year high of $374.80.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.650-12.150 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 11.96 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.

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