Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its holdings in AZZ Inc. by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, now owning 1.48% of the company worth approximately $37 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their stakes in AZZ, with Wellington Management Group boosting its position by 19.2% and Bank of America raising holdings by an impressive 554.6%.
• AZZ recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.17 to $0.20 per share, showing a positive shift with a current yield of 0.7%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,116 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.48% of AZZ worth $37,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 110.0% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in AZZ by 1,121.3% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position 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 valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 35.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total value of $1,158,119.41. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. The trade was a 38.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total transaction of $2,939,298.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,305,724.70. The trade was a 12.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Sidoti lowered AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.29.

AZZ Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of AZZ traded up $3.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $116.57. The stock had a trading volume of 181,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,423. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.90 and a 52-week high of $117.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $109.05 and its 200 day moving average is $95.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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 $421.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $435.91 million. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. AZZ's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

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

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.