Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 2,166 Shares of Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,166 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Assurant during the 2nd quarter worth $131,300,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Assurant by 482.8% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 621,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,805,000 after buying an additional 515,127 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant by 685.2% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 452,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $97,851,000 after purchasing an additional 394,694 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Assurant by 1,222.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 356,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,319,000 after purchasing an additional 329,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Assurant by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,051,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $800,054,000 after acquiring an additional 310,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Price Performance

Assurant stock opened at $241.89 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $223.13 and a 200-day moving average of $210.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Assurant, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.97 and a 52-week high of $243.22.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Assurant had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter. Assurant has set its FY 2022 guidance at $13.062-$13.512 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Assurant Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.88 dividend. This is a boost from Assurant’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is 21.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Assurant in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Assurant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Keith Demmings sold 13,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $3,026,637.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,647 shares in the company, valued at $18,666,356.44. This trade represents a 13.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Company Profile

Assurant, Inc is a global provider of risk management products and services, specializing in the housing and lifestyle markets. The company offers insurance and related products designed to help consumers protect their homes, personal belongings, and electronic devices. Its core offerings include renters insurance, manufactured housing finance, flood insurance, mobile device protection plans, and extended service contracts for appliances and electronics.

Within its Global Housing segment, Assurant partners with mortgage lenders, financial institutions and government agencies to deliver specialty insurance and risk mitigation services.