Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT Holdings Raised by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec significantly increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 260.3% during the first quarter, now holding 74,175 shares valued at approximately $16.7 million.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their positions in Applied Industrial Technologies, with Ameriprise Financial increasing its stake by 62.5% to 162,990 shares valued at $36.7 million.
• Research analysts have recently issued positive ratings for Applied Industrial Technologies, with six giving a "Buy" rating, and the average target price set at $285.00.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 260.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 53,590 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.19% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $16,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 510,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $122,315,000 after purchasing an additional 56,732 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 471,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $112,870,000 after purchasing an additional 33,842 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.6% during 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 buying an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.4% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 10,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34,002.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 318,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $716,990,000 after buying an additional 317,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT stock traded down $3.04 on Friday, hitting $263.43. 154,024 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 302,576. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $191.31 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.15 and a 200-day moving average of $240.39. 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 (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.000-10.75 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AIT. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. 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. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.06, for a total value of $2,276,152.38. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 19,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,147,047.38. This represents a 30.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.46, for a total transaction of $7,000,070.66. Following the completion of 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 90 days, insiders sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980. 1.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

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.