American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 5.0%, owning 144,055 shares valued at approximately $32.5 million after selling 7,532 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors hold 93.52% of Applied Industrial Technologies stock, with several boosting their stakes significantly in recent quarters, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which increased its stake by nearly 34,003% in the first quarter.
• The company's recent earnings report showed $2.80 EPS, exceeding expectations, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,532 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $32,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 31.1% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.5% in the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 4,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 0.5%

AIT stock traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $268.30. 340,404 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 314,034. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.32. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $191.31 and a one year high of $282.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $256.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.50.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. The business's 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. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total value of $1,941,757.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,819.28. This represents a 34.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.06, for a total transaction of $2,276,152.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,147,047.38. The trade was a 30.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

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.