Raymond James Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Raymond James Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 40.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,477 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,187 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.12% of AZZ worth $3,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of AZZ by 110.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of AZZ by 1,121.3% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of AZZ by 140.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,095 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of AZZ by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total transaction of $2,939,298.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total transaction of $558,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 46,837 shares of company stock valued at $5,195,318 in the last ninety days. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AZZ Stock Performance

NYSE:AZZ traded down $2.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $117.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 195,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,163. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.90 and a 1 year high of $119.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $111.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.28.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.19. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $421.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company'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. Analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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