First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 249,961 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 34.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 978,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 249,961 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 2.65% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $259,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 22,451.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 585,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $150,319,000 after acquiring an additional 582,827 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $125,044,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33,181.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 300,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,322,000 after acquiring an additional 299,960 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4,933.8% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 264,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,935,000 after acquiring an additional 259,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 92.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 430,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,648,000 after acquiring an additional 206,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.04, for a total value of $2,448,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 40,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,471,436.04. This trade represents a 16.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Madhuri A. Andrews sold 3,845 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.89, for a total transaction of $1,268,427.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,633,285.39. This trade represents a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AIT. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $317.00 price target on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.71.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AIT opened at $341.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $238.34 and a one year high of $345.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.64% and a net margin of 8.34%.The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.26%.

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.