PharVision Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,729,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $223,584,000 after buying an additional 124,392 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in AZZ by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $90,999,000 after acquiring an additional 29,306 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in AZZ by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 882,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,279,000 after acquiring an additional 142,215 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of AZZ by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 352,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,854,000 after acquiring an additional 64,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of AZZ by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 311,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,852,000 after acquiring an additional 15,952 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE AZZ opened at $90.22 on Thursday. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $69.59 and a one year high of $99.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $85.34 and its 200-day moving average is $87.84.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $367.78 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. AZZ's payout ratio is 42.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm started coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sidoti raised AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.71.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In other AZZ news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,889 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.88, for a total value of $2,309,227.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,160,013.04. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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