Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 541,900 shares, a decline of 5.6% from the October 15th total of 573,800 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 244,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho started coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 4,858 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,876.50. This trade represents a 20.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.4% during the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,181,000 after acquiring an additional 40,689 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 630,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,398,000 after acquiring an additional 7,720 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 569,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $84,139,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $267.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $230.16 and a 200 day moving average of $208.43. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 52 week low of $155.47 and a 52 week high of $276.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 3.78 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 firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 15.10%.

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.