United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $125,044,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 1,628.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 196,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,570,000 after acquiring an additional 185,553 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,539,000 after acquiring an additional 6,254 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $2,341,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AIT shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $317.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.6%

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $324.20 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.58. The company has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.84. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $238.34 and a fifty-two week high of $374.80.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.25. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 8.35%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.650-12.150 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 11.95 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, Director Peter C. Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $648,216.80. Following the sale, the director owned 22,859 shares in the company, valued at $7,782,346.55. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David K. Wells sold 1,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total transaction of $643,441.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,380,955. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,561 shares of company stock worth $2,560,085. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.