AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 544,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 81,507 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 1.82% of AZZ worth $44,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in AZZ by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 6.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 157,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,004,000 after purchasing an additional 10,038 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,008,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Down 2.5%

AZZ stock traded down $2.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.22. The stock had a trading volume of 164,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,304. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.59 and a 52-week high of $99.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 60.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The company had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.78 million. On average, analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AZZ news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.88, for a total transaction of $2,309,227.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,160,013.04. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Sidoti raised shares of AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.71.

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.