Fiera Capital Corp Grows Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 239,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,983 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.64% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $61,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 22.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 933,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,577,000 after acquiring an additional 172,857 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 32,824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,569,000 after acquiring an additional 8,153 shares during the period. Distillate Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $13,281,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 44.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,915,000 after acquiring an additional 9,321 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 6.4% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 234,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,277,000 after acquiring an additional 14,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AIT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $317.00 price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.04, for a total transaction of $2,448,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 40,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,471,436.04. The trade was a 16.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE AIT opened at $315.50 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $295.69 and its 200-day moving average is $277.56. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.13 and a 12-month high of $317.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.84.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.02. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 21.64%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.850-2.960 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.640-10.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.26%.

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.