Kurt Loring Sells 8,523 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Stock

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) VP Kurt Loring sold 8,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $5,147,047.38. This represents a 30.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of AIT opened at $267.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.32. The company has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $255.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.31. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $191.31 and a 52-week high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.20. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 8.61%.The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AIT shares. Raymond James Financial lowered 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 Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 target price on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2,033.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.