Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $72.17 Million Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.4%, owning approximately 0.84% of the company valued at $72.17 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Applied Industrial Technologies, with Oppenheimer and Robert W. Baird both setting new targets at $300, indicating strong confidence in the stock's future performance.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with plans for a stock buyback authorizing the reacquisition of 1.5 million shares, suggesting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,284 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,667 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.84% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $72,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AIT. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 51.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 97.5% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 31.1% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AIT traded down $3.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $263.43. 154,024 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 289,802. The business's fifty day moving average is $258.15 and its 200 day moving average is $240.23. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $191.31 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.32.

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 net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for 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. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at $39,299,448.10. This represents a 15.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,147,047.38. This represents a 30.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AIT. 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.00.

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.