Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,592 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Assurant worth $5,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AIZ. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Assurant by 0.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Assurant by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Assurant by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued 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 raised their target price for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Insider Activity

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ stock opened at $211.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.61. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $160.12 and a one year high of $230.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Assurant 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.