BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 20,687 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 43.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 20,687 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 68,548 shares worth about $17.6 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on AIT remains mostly positive, with five analysts rating it a Buy and one a Hold; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $313.67.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and its stock recently traded near a 52-week high of $317.10 after opening at $315.50.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 43.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,687 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.18% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $17,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 890.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 446.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 153 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $317.00 price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $313.67.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $315.50 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.13 and a 52-week high of $317.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $295.69 and a 200-day moving average of $277.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.02. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 21.64%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.850-2.960 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.640-10.750 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.7 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.04, for a total transaction of $2,448,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 40,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,471,436.04. This represents a 16.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AIT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.