SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $338,000 in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in AZZ by 554.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 251,823 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,629,000 after purchasing an additional 213,355 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 valued at $72,279,000 after buying an additional 142,215 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at $10,612,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 4.8% in the 4th 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. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter worth $7,500,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

NYSE:AZZ traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.32. 38,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 219,009. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $89.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.50 and a beta of 1.25. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $69.59 and a one year high of $99.49.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $351.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $367.78 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 8.17%. Research analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from AZZ's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 18,851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total value of $1,694,893.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,317,295.37. This represents a 8.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZZ. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.00.

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.