Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth about $681,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth about $284,730,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 117,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,282,000 after purchasing an additional 36,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE AIZ opened at $199.73 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $210.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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 report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.