Robert W. Baird Boosts Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Price Target to $275.00

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.93% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho assumed coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT traded up $7.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $262.07. The stock had a trading volume of 65,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,098. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $176.32 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $257.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.08.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $84,139,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth about $32,233,000. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 456.3% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 130,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,207,000 after acquiring an additional 107,365 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $213,590,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,034,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.