Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

AIT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $317.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $355.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

AIT stock opened at $343.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $337.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.11. Applied Industrial Technologies has a 1-year low of $238.34 and a 1-year high of $374.80.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.25. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 8.35%.The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.650-12.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 11.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, Director Peter Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.45, for a total value of $648,216.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,859 shares in the company, valued at $7,782,346.55. This trade represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David Wells sold 1,812 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.10, for a total value of $643,441.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,380,955. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Industrial Technologies during the second quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $96,000. 93.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc is a distributor and value-added service provider of industrial products and engineered solutions. The company supplies products used to maintain, repair and operate manufacturing, processing, infrastructure and other industrial facilities, including bearings, power-transmission components, fluid-power equipment, industrial motion products, automation technologies, safety products and related supplies.

In addition to distributing products from leading manufacturers, Applied Industrial Technologies provides technical support, engineering, fabrication, repair and maintenance services.