AlphaQuest LLC Decreases Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 90.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,033 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $89,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 509.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Assurant Price Performance

NYSE AIZ traded down $5.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $206.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,361,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,510. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.59. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Assurant's payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

About Assurant

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.