Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Sells 5,617 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 5.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 100,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,617 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Assurant were worth $16,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its position in Assurant by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 783,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,971,000 after buying an additional 15,074 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Assurant by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 737,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,194,000 after buying an additional 139,680 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Assurant in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,253,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Assurant by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 566,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,118,000 after buying an additional 96,021 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Assurant by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,089,000 after buying an additional 19,839 shares during the period. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,329.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Assurant news, EVP Martin Jenns sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.13, for a total transaction of $267,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,027 shares in the company, valued at $717,329.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dimitry Dirienzo sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.44, for a total transaction of $103,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $593,962.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Assurant from $223.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Assurant from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Assurant from $186.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Assurant from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assurant has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.60.

Assurant Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Assurant stock opened at $191.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.50 and a 12-month high of $199.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.83.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. Analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

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.