MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $1.45 Million Stock Holdings in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of AZZ worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in AZZ by 110.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in AZZ by 1,121.3% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of AZZ by 140.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AZZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AZZ from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AZZ from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of AZZ from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.29.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.60, for a total transaction of $558,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,534,324.40. This trade represents a 18.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 26,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.85, for a total transaction of $2,939,298.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,305,724.70. This represents a 12.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,837 shares of company stock valued at $5,195,318 in the last ninety days. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AZZ Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AZZ opened at $112.55 on Thursday. AZZ Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.90 and a 12 month high of $117.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 1.30.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.19. AZZ had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $421.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.750-6.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.27%.

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.