Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 304,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,460 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.59% of Assurant worth $64,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Assurant by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Assurant by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Assurant by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:AIZ opened at $209.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $208.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.83. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. On average, research analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.17.

Assurant 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.