Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Lowers Holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE reduced its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 46.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,115 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE's holdings in Assurant were worth $1,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Assurant by 144.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 23,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 13,787 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,807,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 173.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 84,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,050,000 after purchasing an additional 53,697 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,467,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Assurant by 503.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

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

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AIZ shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Assurant Trading Up 0.7 %

AIZ stock traded up $1.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.14. The company had a trading volume of 328,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $208.93 and a 200 day moving average of $207.61. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

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.