KBC Group NV Sells 631 Shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

KBC Group NV reduced its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 631 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 2.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 15,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,609,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 4.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of AIT stock opened at $242.46 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.29. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $199.96 and a one year high of $282.98. The firm has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.55 and a quick ratio of 2.36.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.16. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 8.61%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.100-10.850 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Industrial Technologies

In other news, VP Kurt W. Loring sold 8,523 shares of Applied Industrial Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.06, for a total value of $2,276,152.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,147,047.38. The trade was a 30.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Neil A. Schrimsher sold 26,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.46, for a total value of $7,000,070.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 149,735 shares in the company, valued at $39,299,448.10. The trade was a 15.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 42,660 shares of company stock worth $11,217,980 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AIT. Raymond James Financial downgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho set a $305.00 price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.50.

Applied Industrial Technologies Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.