Zacks Investment Management Sells 179 Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Zacks Investment Management decreased its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in AZZ were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in AZZ by 19.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 675,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10,072 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 15,952 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 298,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,419,000 after buying an additional 52,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in AZZ by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,210,000 after buying an additional 68,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AZZ. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital upgraded AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Sidoti raised shares of AZZ from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $101.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.71.

AZZ Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $81.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.59 and a 12-month high of $99.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.34.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. AZZ’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

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.