Strs Ohio Buys New Shares in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc., purchasing 39,400 shares valued at approximately $8.88 million, representing about 0.10% of the company.
• A number of institutional investors, including Intech Investment Management LLC, UBS AM, and others, have increased their stakes in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter, reflecting growing confidence in the company.
• Recent analyst ratings have been positive, with firms like Bank of America raising their price targets and assigning "buy" ratings, projecting significant growth potential for the stock.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 39,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $8,878,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.10% of Applied Industrial Technologies as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 42.5% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,214 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,518 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,162,000 after buying an additional 10,863 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $318,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $541,000. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,299,448.10. This represents a 15.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,768,819.28. The trade was a 34.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 1.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AIT shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $263.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $263.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.86. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.96 and a 12 month high of $282.98.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. The company'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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.46 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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