Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) Shares Break Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $316.69 and traded as high as $348.18. Applied Industrial Technologies shares last traded at $343.3850, with a volume of 268,208 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AIT. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $337.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.69. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.85.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.17 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Applied Industrial Technologies’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. Analysts expect that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 11.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Peter C. Wallace sold 1,904 shares of the company’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 transaction of $648,216.80. Following the sale, the director owned 22,859 shares in the company, valued at $7,782,346.55. This represents a 7.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David K. Wells sold 1,812 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,380,955. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter valued at $1,336,805,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 978,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $259,706,000 after purchasing an additional 249,961 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 962,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $247,250,000 after purchasing an additional 195,043 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 348,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,357,000 after purchasing an additional 12,386 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Applied Industrial Technologies by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 285,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,254,000 after buying an additional 50,556 shares during the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.