State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 13.7%, lowering its holdings to 10,184 shares worth approximately $2,295,000.
• Applied Industrial Technologies recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.80, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.60, alongside revenue of $1.22 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, with a payout ratio of 18.18%, and has initiated a share repurchase plan for up to 1,500,000 shares.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,614 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 17.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 26.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.3% in 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 last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 0.5%

Applied Industrial Technologies stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $268.30. 340,404 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,034. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $191.31 and a 12 month high of $282.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $256.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.50. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.94.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. The company's 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. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be 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 is Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Applied Industrial Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,500,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.06, for a total value of $2,276,152.38. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,147,047.38. This trade represents a 30.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

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.