Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.46

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 25th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.46 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%.

Applied Industrial Technologies has a payout ratio of 17.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Applied Industrial Technologies to earn $10.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.1%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:AIT opened at $225.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.93. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $182.21 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $228.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.51.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 381,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,897,000 after buying an additional 14,926 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,162,000 after buying an additional 10,863 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $320.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.00.

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.