Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,861 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Assurant worth $26,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Assurant by 7.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Assurant by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Assurant Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Assurant stock traded up $7.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $211.44. 428,028 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,853. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $207.94 and a 200-day moving average of $205.88. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio 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.