Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 357,568 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• AllianceBernstein L.P. increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 452.6% during Q1, acquiring 357,568 shares and owning a total of 436,565 shares worth $98,376,000.
• Applied Industrial Technologies reported earnings of $2.80 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates and showing a 5.5% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, with a current annual yield of 0.7% and a low payout ratio of 18.18%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 452.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 436,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 357,568 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.15% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $98,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 602,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $135,835,000 after acquiring an additional 131,465 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 379,460 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,869,000 after purchasing an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 320,284 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,174,000 after purchasing an additional 10,667 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34,002.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 318,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $716,990,000 after purchasing an additional 317,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter worth $67,365,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AIT. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 target price on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total value of $1,941,757.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 14,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,768,819.28. The trade was a 34.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.46, for a total value of $7,000,070.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 149,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,299,448.10. This trade represents a 15.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded up $6.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $269.74. 256,346 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 230,464. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.71 and a one year high of $282.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $263.32 and a 200 day moving average of $240.78. 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 $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.20. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.000-10.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is 18.18%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

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.