Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $986,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Assurant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,728,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in Assurant by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Assurant by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Assurant by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $217.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.50.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $211.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $215.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.48. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 6.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.29 earnings per share. Assurant’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,240.44. The trade was a 12.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

About Assurant

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.