Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $64,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $211.44 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $207.93 and a 200 day moving average of $206.09. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 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. Investors 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 yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant 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 owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.