Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT Shares Sold by Fiduciary Management Inc. WI

Key Points

• Fiduciary Management Inc. WI reduced its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.8%, now owning approximately 0.62% of the company.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Applied Industrial Technologies, with Oppenheimer increasing their target to $300.00 and Robert W. Baird maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• The company recently declared a $0.46 per share quarterly dividend and initiated a share repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to 1,500,000 shares.

Fiduciary Management Inc. WI reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 236,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,917 shares during the period. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI owned approximately 0.62% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $53,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 162,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,728,000 after buying an additional 62,710 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.4% in 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 during the period. Tribune Investment Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $7,436,000. Credit Agricole S A increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 62.3% in the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 10,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,026 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 177.4% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 5,995 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AIT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.86.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $258.9290 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50 day moving average is $253.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.42. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $191.31 and a 12-month high of $282.98.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Industrial Technologies 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.

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