Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Now Covered by Oppenheimer

Research analysts at Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $235.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. Oppenheimer's price target points to a potential upside of 22.15% from the company's current price.

Separately, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.25.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of AIT traded down $2.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.39. 320,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,621. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $122.24 and a fifty-two week high of $201.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a current ratio of 3.74. The stock's 50-day moving average is $187.50 and its 200-day moving average is $171.49.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,642.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $271,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 38,917 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,995,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 4,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 7,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

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.