Smith Group Asset Management LLC Has $2.37 Million Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 356.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,124 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of AZZ worth $2,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in AZZ by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 202.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AZZ during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,052,000. Amundi grew its holdings in AZZ by 184.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 9,671 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ in the fourth quarter worth about $444,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.88, for a total transaction of $2,309,227.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 211,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,160,013.04. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AZZ Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of AZZ stock traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $100.14. 314,794 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,698. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 62.98 and a beta of 1.24. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.59 and a 1-year high of $100.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.18.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.78 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZZ. Sidoti cut shares of 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. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.00.

AZZ Profile

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.