KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 600 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in AZZ were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 650,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,353,000 after purchasing an additional 105,723 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 168,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,854 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,772,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 94,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,925,000 after purchasing an additional 20,359 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 84,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,030,000 after purchasing an additional 14,965 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $97.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $111.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.90 and a 52 week high of $119.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $129.87 million during the quarter. AZZ had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 15.01%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.69%.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were 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 owned 22,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,534,324.40. This represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kurt L. Russell sold 10,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.21, for a total transaction of $1,158,119.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,576.84. This represents a 38.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,837 shares of company stock worth $4,655,418 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AZZ shares. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AZZ from $128.00 to $121.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on AZZ from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.43.

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.