Insider Selling: Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) VP Sells 8,000 Shares of Stock

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) VP Warren Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.04, for a total value of $2,448,320.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 40,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,471,436.04. This represents a 16.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AIT traded up $10.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $316.17. 455,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,015. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.70. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.78 and a 1-year high of $316.46. The firm has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.86.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.02. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.64% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.850-2.960 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.640-10.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 890.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $317.00 price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.67.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

Applied Industrial Technologies, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIT, is a leading distributor of industrial products and services. The company offers a comprehensive range of bearings, power transmission components, fluid power products, industrial rubber products, and automation solutions. Through its network of distribution centers and branch locations, Applied Industrial Technologies serves diverse end markets including manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, food and beverage, and wastewater treatment.

Founded in 1923 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Applied Industrial Technologies has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.