Raymond James & Associates Cuts Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 805 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in AZZ were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZZ. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 8,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 131.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in AZZ by 7.7% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG raised its holdings in AZZ by 1.8% during the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 32,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Noble Financial cut AZZ from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZZ opened at $75.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.28. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $34.59 and a one year high of $82.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.26.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.55%.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, and India. The company operates through AZZ Metal Coatings and AZZ Precoat Metals segments. The AZZ Metal Coatings segment offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries.