Fmr LLC Trims Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

FMR LLC reduced its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,956,870 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 266,521 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 9.90% of AZZ worth $242,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AZZ by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,749 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 31,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 15,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AZZ by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 25,706 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 33,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.59. 206,009 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,630. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26. AZZ Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.59 and a 12 month high of $99.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $88.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.34.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is 45.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZZ shares. B. Riley upped their price target on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Capital raised AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sidoti raised AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.71.

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.