Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Stock Holdings Lowered by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,592 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $5,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Assurant during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Assurant by 219.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Assurant by 503.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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 research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Assurant currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

AIZ opened at $211.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.61. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

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.