AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Insider Kurt L. Russell Sells 10,321 Shares

Key Points

• Kurt L. Russell, an insider at AZZ Inc., sold 10,321 shares on August 12th for around $1.15 million, reducing his ownership by 38.05%.
• AZZ Inc. recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share, up from $0.17, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%.
• A number of analysts have raised their price targets for AZZ shares, with an average consensus target price of $108.00, buoyed by a recent "buy" rating from Wall Street Zen.

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total transaction of $1,158,119.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. This trade represents a 38.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $113.55. The stock had a trading volume of 323,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,102. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.90 and a 1 year high of $114.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $101.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.91.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $421,962 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $435.91 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZZ. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in AZZ by 206.7% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 273 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in AZZ during the second quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 39.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 374 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 110.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2,150.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on AZZ from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Sidoti lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AZZ has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.00.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers.

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