Millennium Management LLC Buys 68,871 Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 1,822.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,871 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of AZZ worth $5,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 81,999.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 153,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,860,000 after acquiring an additional 153,339 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AZZ during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,443,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 325.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 122,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,435,000 after purchasing an additional 93,420 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,969,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,147,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,646,000 after buying an additional 53,188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Baird R W raised AZZ to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.80.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $77.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.76. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.83 and a 52-week high of $88.67. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 60.84, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.23. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $409.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $409.50 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.63% and a return on equity of 18.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is 53.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $27,638.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,121.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $27,638.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,121.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,233,270.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,800. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.