Zacks Investment Management Sells 1,240 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Zacks Investment Management cut its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 66,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Assurant were worth $14,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AIZ. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Assurant by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,320,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,016,000 after acquiring an additional 891,292 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Assurant by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,724,000 after purchasing an additional 10,956 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Assurant in the fourth quarter valued at $143,475,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of Assurant by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 281,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,764,000 after acquiring an additional 87,323 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Assurant by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 213,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,533,000 after purchasing an additional 63,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock opened at $190.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $203.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.95. The company has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.53. Assurant, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.12 and a 12 month high of $230.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AIZ. Piper Sandler raised shares of Assurant from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Assurant from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Assurant presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

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.