SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 59,202 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 97.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,202 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Assurant by 11,480.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 464,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,460,000 after purchasing an additional 460,937 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at about $48,430,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Assurant during the third quarter worth about $284,730,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Assurant during the third quarter valued at about $26,630,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Assurant by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,163,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,392,000 after acquiring an additional 65,874 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.18, for a total transaction of $627,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,658 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,240.44. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AIZ. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Assurant in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Assurant from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Assurant from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Assurant from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Assurant from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.50.

Assurant Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $212.58 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $214.43 and its 200-day moving average is $200.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.62.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.29 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

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.