MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,031 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.3%, now holding approximately 42,941 shares valued at $9,676,000.
• A number of institutional investors drastically increased their positions in Applied Industrial Technologies, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its stake by 34,002.9% in the first quarter.
• Applied Industrial Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, with a current annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 18.18%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,031 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.11% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $9,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AIT. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 26.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.3% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 19,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,147,047.38. The trade was a 30.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 14,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,768,819.28. The trade was a 34.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,660 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,980 over the last ninety days. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price target on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. 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 company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $3.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $263.43. 154,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,576. The company has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $191.31 and a one year high of $282.98. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $258.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.39. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. Applied Industrial Technologies's revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

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.