American Century Companies Inc. Has $5.75 Million Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in AZZ Inc. by 8.9%, acquiring an additional 5,601 shares, bringing its total ownership to 68,712 shares valued at approximately $5.75 million.
• Insider sales were reported, with COO Bryan Lee Stovall selling 5,000 shares and CEO Thomas E. Ferguson selling 26,516 shares, indicating a decrease in their holdings by 18.04% and 12.64% respectively.
• AZZ recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.17 to $0.20, reflecting continued financial growth, with an annualized yield of 0.7% based on the latest payout.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,601 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.23% of AZZ worth $5,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 2,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 1,121.3% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 140.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,298 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZZ. Sidoti lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.29.

AZZ Price Performance

NYSE AZZ traded down $1.94 during trading on Monday, reaching $113.06. 170,812 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 279,804. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $107.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.00. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.90 and a 1-year high of $117.35.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $421.96 million 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 company's quarterly revenue 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. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.27%.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total value of $1,158,119.41. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,885,576.84. The trade was a 38.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total value of $2,939,298.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,182 shares in the company, valued at $20,305,724.70. The trade was a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,837 shares of company stock valued at $5,195,318 in the last three months. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.