Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 60.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Assurant were worth $863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position 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 buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total value of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,240.44. This trade represents a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Assurant Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Assurant stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Monday, reaching $211.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 345,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,810. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.37. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Assurant's payout ratio is 22.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.50.

Assurant 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.