Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Shares in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 61,664 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,052,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.21% of AZZ as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZZ. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in AZZ by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 882,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,279,000 after buying an additional 142,215 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 311,938 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,852,000 after purchasing an additional 15,952 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in AZZ by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 298,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $24,419,000 after purchasing an additional 52,281 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AZZ by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 258,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,210,000 after purchasing an additional 68,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 164,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,504,000 after buying an additional 7,422 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded up $1.17 on Tuesday, reaching $88.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 182,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,067. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.59 and a 52-week high of $99.49. The stock's 50-day moving average is $85.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.48, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $367.78 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Sidoti upgraded AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.71.

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.