Fiera Capital Corp Raises Stock Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 32.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,983 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $61,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,456,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,044,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33,181.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 300,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,322,000 after acquiring an additional 299,960 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 1,628.7% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 196,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,570,000 after acquiring an additional 185,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 22.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 933,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,577,000 after acquiring an additional 172,857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.04, for a total value of $2,448,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 40,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,471,436.04. This represents a 16.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AIT. Robert W. Baird set a $317.00 price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.67.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT stock opened at $315.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $223.13 and a one year high of $317.10. The stock has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.56.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

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