Liberty Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• Liberty Capital Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, purchasing 34,668 shares valued at approximately $8,059,000, now constituting 1.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Analysts are optimistic about the stock, with several firms raising their target prices, and six analysts rating it as a Buy, leading to an average target price of $285.00.
• Insider trading activity showed significant sales, with VP Jason W. Vasquez selling 7,466 shares and CEO Neil A. Schrimsher selling 26,671 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective ownership stakes.

Liberty Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 34,668 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $8,059,000. Applied Industrial Technologies comprises about 1.6% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Liberty Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Applied Industrial Technologies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 126,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 target price on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total value of $1,941,757.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,819.28. This trade 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 this hyperlink. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.46, for a total value of $7,000,070.66. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.0%

AIT opened at $260.98 on Wednesday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.96 and a 52 week high of $282.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.32. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.00. 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 results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.20. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 8.61%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. The company'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, equities analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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