AlphaQuest LLC Sells 4,033 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 90.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,033 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Assurant by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Assurant by 16.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Assurant by 509.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Assurant Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of AIZ opened at $212.43 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $208.19 and its 200 day moving average is $206.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.12 and a 12-month high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.61.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its 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%. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis 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.