Cibc World Markets Corp lowered its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,983 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp's holdings in Assurant were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 127.1% in 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Assurant
In related 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 transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AIZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley began 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 for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three 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.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Assurant
Assurant Trading Up 0.7 %
NYSE:AIZ traded up $1.39 on Tuesday, hitting $210.83. The stock had a trading volume of 305,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,522. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.96. Assurant, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.12 and a 1-year high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.61.
Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Assurant Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's payout ratio is 22.11%.
About Assurant
(
Free Report)
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.
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