Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Has $20.92 Million Stock Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. decreased its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,945 shares during the quarter. Assurant accounts for about 1.6% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Assurant worth $20,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $231,392,000 after buying an additional 65,874 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 11,480.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,460,000 after buying an additional 460,937 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Assurant in the third quarter valued at about $48,430,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 48.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,243,000 after buying an additional 62,696 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Assurant by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,079,000 after buying an additional 24,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Assurant Stock Down 0.6 %

AIZ stock traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $199.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,094,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,300. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.47. The company has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

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.