Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Sold by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Key Points

• Valley Wealth Managers Inc. has reduced its stake in Assurant, Inc. by 1.9%, now holding 96,248 shares valued at approximately $20 million.
• Assurant reported $3.39 EPS for the last quarter, outperforming estimates of $2.78, while its revenue increased by 6.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.72% with a payout ratio of 24.94%.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. reduced its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,868 shares during the quarter. Assurant comprises 1.5% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned 0.19% of Assurant worth $20,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in Assurant by 47.3% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its stake in Assurant by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Assurant by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AIZ. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Assurant from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Assurant from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assurant from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Assurant from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Assurant currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.83.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $186.09 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.63 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.61. Assurant had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.55%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Assurant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assurant

In related news, EVP Jay Rosenblum sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.93, for a total transaction of $201,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,725.75. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.