Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 568,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,984 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 1.91% of AZZ worth $43,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 1.2% in the first quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 14,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of AZZ by 69.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 7.7% in the second quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 38.6% in the second quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in AZZ by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $27,638.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,121.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,511 shares of company stock valued at $52,794. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AZZ shares. Robert W. Baird began coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Noble Financial raised shares of AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised AZZ to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AZZ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.80.

AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ stock opened at $81.89 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.02. AZZ Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.48 and a twelve month high of $88.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 76.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $413.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.25 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.55%.

AZZ 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.