Kennedy Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,216 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Assurant worth $13,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AIZ. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Assurant by 10.8% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 5,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 82.0% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Assurant by 198.4% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 41,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,334,000 after buying an additional 27,866 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Assurant by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Assurant by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $193.42 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $205.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.53. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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 1.65%. Assurant’s payout ratio is 22.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AIZ. StockNews.com cut Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by 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.