Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 on February 28th

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.46 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

Applied Industrial Technologies has raised its dividend by an average of 3.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Applied Industrial Technologies has a dividend payout ratio of 13.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Applied Industrial Technologies to earn $10.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.0%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $263.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $176.32 and a one year high of $282.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.96. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 22.68%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total transaction of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.43.

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.