United Services Automobile Association Acquires Shares of 2,400 Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, purchasing 2,400 shares valued at approximately $541,000 in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their ratings for Applied Industrial Technologies, with several providing a consensus price target of $285.00 and most analysts rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."
• Insider trading activity includes VP Kurt W. Loring selling 8,523 shares and CEO Neil A. Schrimsher selling 26,671 shares, both indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 257,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $61,680,000 after purchasing an additional 19,304 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,047 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $263.47. 33,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,734. The firm has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 2.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $263.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.83. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.96 and a 1-year high of $282.98.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.000-10.75 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIT. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,299,448.10. This trade represents a 15.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 7,466 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,491 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.