Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies to “Hold” from “Buy,” despite the broader analyst consensus remaining “Buy” with an average price target of $400.
• Applied Industrial Technologies exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.17 in EPS versus a $2.92 estimate and $1.35 billion in revenue, up 10.5% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company, while recent insider transactions included stock sales by a director and the CFO.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $317.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $400.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE AIT opened at $343.38 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $337.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $316.69. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 12 month low of $238.34 and a 12 month high of $374.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.85.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.650-12.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 11.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter C. Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David K. Wells sold 1,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total transaction of $643,441.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,050 shares in the company, valued at $11,380,955. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,336,805,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 978,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $259,706,000 after acquiring an additional 249,961 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 962,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $247,250,000 after acquiring an additional 195,043 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 348,005 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,357,000 after acquiring an additional 12,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 285,290 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,254,000 after buying an additional 50,556 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc is a distributor and value-added service provider of industrial products and engineered solutions. The company supplies products used to maintain, repair and operate manufacturing, processing, infrastructure and other industrial facilities, including bearings, power-transmission components, fluid-power equipment, industrial motion products, automation technologies, safety products and related supplies.

In addition to distributing products from leading manufacturers, Applied Industrial Technologies provides technical support, engineering, fabrication, repair and maintenance services.

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