Loop Capital Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Stock Price

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its target price trimmed by Loop Capital from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT stock opened at $221.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $233.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $245.61. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52-week low of $177.68 and a 52-week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.62% and a return on equity of 22.37%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 156.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 45,224 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 233,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,238,000 after buying an additional 29,288 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 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.