Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $276.07 and last traded at $276.07, with a volume of 14972 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $275.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AIT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $225.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.78, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,221.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.10, for a total transaction of $986,659.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,922,876.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.02, for a total transaction of $703,561.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,221.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,927 shares of company stock valued at $2,439,116 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth $226,000. Thematics Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.8% in the third quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 54,835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,235,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $32,233,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 123.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 40,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,936,000 after purchasing an additional 22,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

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.