Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 110.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $705,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. The trade was a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Assurant Stock Performance

NYSE:AIZ opened at $211.44 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $207.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.18.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 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.