Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its AZZ stake by 11.5% in the first quarter, selling 37,147 shares and retaining 285,860 shares valued at approximately $35.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.93% of AZZ.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $155.25. Recent targets range from $152 to $170, although some firms downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• AZZ exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.85 in EPS and $448.5 million in revenue, while revenue grew 6.3% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.20 to $0.24 per share, producing an annualized yield of 0.6%.

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,147 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.96% of AZZ worth $35,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in AZZ by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AZZ during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in AZZ by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AZZ shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AZZ from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AZZ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.25.

AZZ Price Performance

NYSE:AZZ opened at $151.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $149.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.12. AZZ Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.98 and a 52 week high of $162.20.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.05. AZZ had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $448.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. AZZ's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $401,737.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,252,450. This trade represents a 7.11% 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. Also, COO Jeffrey Vellines sold 4,220 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.55, for a total transaction of $647,981.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $281,610.70. This represents a 69.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AZZ Profile

AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.

AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.

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