Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 16,483 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. by 4.1%, selling 16,483 shares and now holding approximately 1.28% of the company, valued at $32 million.
• AZZ has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, which is an increase from the previous $0.17, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%.
• Several institutional investors, including Westwood Holdings Group and Foundations Investment Advisors, have made significant changes to their positions in AZZ, indicating strong investor interest and confidence in the stock.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 382,816 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,483 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.28% of AZZ worth $32,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 110.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 2,150.0% during the fourth 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 increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 35.6% during the fourth 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. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 97.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of AZZ during the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AZZ Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE AZZ traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $115.20. The stock had a trading volume of 146,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,424. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.90 and a 1 year high of $117.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $421,962 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total transaction of $558,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 22,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,534,324.40. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Sidoti downgraded shares of AZZ from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.29.

AZZ Company 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.