Assurant, Inc. $AIZ Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,637,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 137,729 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.15% of Assurant worth $1,437,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Assurant by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,010,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,085,247,000 after purchasing an additional 959,259 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Assurant in the second quarter valued at approximately $131,300,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Assurant by 685.2% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 452,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,851,000 after buying an additional 394,694 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Assurant by 1,222.0% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 356,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,319,000 after acquiring an additional 329,131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Assurant stock opened at $224.42 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.97 and a 52 week high of $246.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.12 and a 200-day moving average of $222.84.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Assurant had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AIZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Assurant from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.17.

About Assurant

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.