Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT Shares Sold by Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.8%, selling 3,652 shares, and now holds approximately $11.3 million worth of the stock.
• Recent analyst reports have led to varied ratings for Applied Industrial Technologies, with price targets ranging from $265 to $300, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Applied Industrial Technologies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share and has approved a stock buyback plan for up to 1.5 million shares, indicating confidence in its valuation.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,652 shares during the quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $11,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34,002.9% in the first 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. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,365,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 199.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 309,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,145,000 after acquiring an additional 206,220 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2,936.6% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 69,265 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,587,000 after acquiring an additional 66,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $36,728,000 after purchasing an additional 62,710 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AIT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded down $3.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $263.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 154,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,259. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $191.31 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $257.42 and a 200 day moving average of $240.52. The company has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. 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 analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Applied Industrial Technologies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,299,448.10. The trade was a 15.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 34.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,980. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

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.