Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) EVP Sells $604,500.00 in Stock

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $199.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62. Assurant, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.12 and a 1 year high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assurant

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Assurant by 36.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 891,292 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $143,475,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Assurant by 11,480.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 460,937 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Assurant by 1,499.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 344,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,375,000 after acquiring an additional 322,608 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the third quarter worth approximately $48,430,000. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.