Warren Hoffner III Sells 4,000 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Stock

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) VP Warren Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.62, for a total value of $1,154,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $15,224,993.62. The trade was a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Applied Industrial Technologies Trading Up 1.8%

AIT stock opened at $292.27 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $267.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.68 and a quick ratio of 2.56. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.96 and a fifty-two week high of $295.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.84.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 21.74%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.450-10.750 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 17.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 890.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $27,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2,033.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AIT. Mizuho set a $305.00 price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Applied Industrial Technologies from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.63.

About Applied Industrial Technologies

Applied Industrial Technologies, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIT, is a leading distributor of industrial products and services. The company offers a comprehensive range of bearings, power transmission components, fluid power products, industrial rubber products, and automation solutions. Through its network of distribution centers and branch locations, Applied Industrial Technologies serves diverse end markets including manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, food and beverage, and wastewater treatment.

Founded in 1923 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Applied Industrial Technologies has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.