OP Asset Management Ltd Purchases New Position in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 62,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,701,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIT. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 962,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $247,250,000 after purchasing an additional 195,043 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $243,577,000 after buying an additional 172,857 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 776,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $199,355,000 after buying an additional 6,953 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,833,000 after buying an additional 3,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 687,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,479,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AIT. Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. 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. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $334.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $309.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $284.26. 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 $12.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.84. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.13 and a 12 month high of $340.37.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.02. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.64% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. 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. Research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.71 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.26%.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 40,751 shares in the company, valued at $12,471,436.04. This represents a 16.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Madhuri A. Andrews sold 3,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.89, for a total transaction of $1,268,427.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,285.39. The trade was a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Profile

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.