HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 235 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 97.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 31.1% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AIT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.46, for a total transaction of $7,000,070.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at $39,299,448.10. This trade represents a 15.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.06, for a total value of $2,276,152.38. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,147,047.38. This trade represents a 30.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $268.30 on Thursday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $191.31 and a one year high of $282.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 2.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.94.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.20. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.000-10.75 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 1,500,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.