Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

AIT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $240.58 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies has a twelve month low of $163.50 and a twelve month high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.05.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,542,000 after buying an additional 34,113 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,181,000 after acquiring an additional 40,689 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,139,000. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 277,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,710 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.