Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC lessened its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 666 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $3,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AIZ. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Assurant by 0.7% in the 4th 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 lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Assurant by 7.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Assurant by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in Assurant by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 26,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,222,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Assurant Price Performance

AIZ stock opened at $199.73 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.12 and a 52-week high of $230.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.47.

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, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.