Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Decreases Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI reduced its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 17.4%, selling 66,144 shares and holding approximately 0.82% of the company valued at $70.6 million.
• Several large investors, including MassMutual Private Wealth and Harbor Investment Advisory, increased their positions in Applied Industrial Technologies during the first quarter, indicating growing interest in the stock.
• Applied Industrial Technologies reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.80 per share for the quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share with a yield of 0.7%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI trimmed its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT - Free Report) by 17.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,316 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 66,144 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.82% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $70,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,183,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. 93.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the business'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 directly owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at $39,299,448.10. The trade was a 15.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of the business'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 ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT traded down $6.65 on Friday, reaching $263.03. 166,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,452. 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 1-year low of $199.96 and a 1-year high of $282.98. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.67 and a 200-day moving average of $240.83.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.