Royal Bank of Canada Sells 37,974 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 21.6%, selling 37,974 shares and ending with approximately 0.36% ownership valued at $31.1 million.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors increased their stakes in Applied Industrial Technologies, with MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosting theirs by 51.2%.
• Applied Industrial Technologies reported quarterly earnings of $2.80 EPS, exceeding estimates and showing a 5.5% revenue growth year-over-year, alongside a declared dividend of $0.46 per share.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 21.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,217 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,974 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.36% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $31,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised 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. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AIT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total transaction of $1,941,757.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 14,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,819.28. This represents a 34.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $6.65 on Friday, hitting $263.03. The company had a trading volume of 166,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,121. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.96 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $263.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.89. 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 (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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. Analysts expect 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 issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.