Wall Street Zen Downgrades Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) to Hold

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp upped 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 report on Thursday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.38.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AIT opened at $253.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.80. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $199.96 and a one year high of $296.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.68 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.74% and a net margin of 8.49%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.450-10.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Industrial Technologies news, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 19,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.85, for a total value of $5,490,320.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 130,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,311,428.80. This trade represents a 12.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jason W. Vasquez sold 5,447 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.87, for a total transaction of $1,568,027.89. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,171,524.17. This represents a 27.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 28,654 shares of company stock valued at $8,212,829 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIT. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,044,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 33.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 44.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,915,000 after purchasing an additional 9,321 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 210.3% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 8,668 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 27.3% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 46,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,041,000 after purchasing an additional 9,898 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.