Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Plans $0.37 Quarterly Dividend

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th.

Applied Industrial Technologies has increased its dividend by an average of 3.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Applied Industrial Technologies has a dividend payout ratio of 14.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Applied Industrial Technologies to earn $9.72 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 15.2%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT remained flat at $178.94 during mid-day trading on Friday. 5,034 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,180. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12-month low of $122.24 and a 12-month high of $201.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 2.59. The company has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.31.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.08. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $364,680.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,642.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.