Insider Selling: Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) EVP Sells 3,000 Shares of Stock

Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Assurant Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AIZ traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $201.22. The stock had a trading volume of 412,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,497. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. 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 company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $210.77 and its 200-day moving average is $203.48.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth 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 grew its position in Assurant by 0.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Assurant by 7.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Assurant by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Assurant by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

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.