Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,945 shares during the period. Assurant accounts for approximately 1.6% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Assurant worth $20,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Assurant by 234.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after acquiring an additional 8,413 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Assurant by 1.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ opened at $202.73 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $211.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued 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 1.58%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AIZ has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.17.

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.