TD Asset Management Inc Sells 7,852 Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. by 13.0%, owning 52,472 shares worth approximately $4.39 million after selling 7,852 shares in the last quarter.
• A number of analysts are bullish on AZZ, with Evercore ISI raising its price target from $90 to $108 and the consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $108.
• AZZ recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share, up from $0.17, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders amid a strong performance with EPS surpassing analysts' expectations.

TD Asset Management Inc decreased its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,852 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.18% of AZZ worth $4,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in AZZ by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,170,000 after buying an additional 5,145 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,745 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at $475,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,261 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.00. 86,193 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 259,619. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $70.90 and a one year high of $114.49. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 $421,962 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

In other AZZ news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.98, for a total value of $539,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 27,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,992,017.82. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. 1.77% of the stock is owned by 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.