Legal & General Group Plc Sells 17,239 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,239 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $14,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 138,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,435,000 after purchasing an additional 22,446 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 998 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Up 2.3%

AIT stock opened at $307.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.77. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.13 and a 1-year high of $317.10.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.64% and a net margin of 8.34%.The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. 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. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.7 EPS for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AIT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $317.00 price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 16.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company 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.