Xponance Inc. Sells 299 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $1,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at $2,808,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,175,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 775.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Assurant by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 4,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AIZ opened at $206.83 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The stock has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.66.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given 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 1.55%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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.