Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 39,857 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 82.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,857 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Assurant were worth $1,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Assurant by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $708,016,000 after buying an additional 891,292 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 6.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Assurant by 11,480.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Assurant by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,764,000 after buying an additional 87,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company's stock.

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Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock traded up $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $213.76. The company had a trading volume of 316,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,130. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS 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 fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Assurant's payout ratio is 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assurant from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.17.

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.