Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 34.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,258 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Assurant during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Assurant by 219.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE AIZ opened at $206.83 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.66.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services.