FORA Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, cutting its holdings by 88% to 1,132 shares, valued at $255,000.
• Institutional investors now own 93.52% of Applied Industrial Technologies, with several firms, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Ameriprise Financial Inc., making large increases in their positions.
• The company reported a strong earnings performance with an EPS of $2.80 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and generating a revenue of $1.22 billion.

FORA Capital LLC cut its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 88.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,132 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,322 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 97.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 31.1% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.06, for a total transaction of $2,276,152.38. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,273 shares in the company, valued at $5,147,047.38. This represents a 30.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,299,448.10. The trade was a 15.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 2.4%

AIT traded up $6.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $267.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 191,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,457. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.00. 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 1 year low of $191.31 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The stock's 50-day moving average is $260.78 and its 200-day moving average is $240.54.

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

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AIT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

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.