Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 20,146 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its stake in AZZ Inc. by 2.3%, selling 20,146 shares, leaving it with a total of 862,162 shares, representing 2.88% ownership valued at approximately $72 million.
• AZZ Inc. reported earnings of $1.78 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates, and has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.20 per share.
• Several institutional investors, including Signaturefd LLC and Quarry LP, have significantly increased their holdings in AZZ, highlighting a growing interest in the industrial products company's stock.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 862,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 20,146 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 2.88% of AZZ worth $72,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of AZZ by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 31,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,610,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,749 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AZZ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,052,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 53,402 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 2.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 29,306 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AZZ Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of AZZ stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $116.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,518. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.90 and a 52-week high of $117.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.30.

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

AZZ Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 owned 183,182 shares in the company, valued at $20,305,724.70. The trade was a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total value of $558,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,534,324.40. The trade was a 18.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,837 shares of company stock worth $5,195,318 over the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZZ. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Zacks Research lowered AZZ from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.29.

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.