L2 Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. $AIT

L2 Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 119.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 890.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 446.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.04, for a total transaction of $2,448,320.00. Following the sale, the vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $317.00 target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.14.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

AIT opened at $323.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.84. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.13 and a fifty-two week high of $327.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $303.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 21.64%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 10.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 19.26%.

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.