Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 5,805 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,805 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter worth $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Assurant in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Assurant by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Assurant by 509.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Assurant Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE AIZ opened at $215.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The firm has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 22.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AIZ. StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.50.

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.