Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 215,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,391 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.72% of AZZ worth $18,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZZ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in AZZ by 2,150.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in AZZ by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,298 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.61. 265,327 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,473. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.51. The business's 50-day moving average price is $94.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.08. AZZ Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.59 and a 12 month high of $113.58.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $421,962 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AZZ. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, 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. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, AZZ has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 183,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.98, for a total value of $539,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 27,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,992,017.82. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,256 shares of company stock valued at $7,483,319 in the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.