Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,941 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the first quarter worth $3,730,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Assurant by 210.7% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,903 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,213,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 770.1% in the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 13,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after buying an additional 11,551 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 608.5% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $196.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.61 and a 52-week high of $201.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.50. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.89 EPS. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Assurant from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assurant news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total value of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,152 shares in the company, valued at $593,962.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total value of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,329.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.