Schroder Investment Management Group Cuts Stock Position in Assurant, Inc. $AIZ

Schroder Investment Management Group decreased its holdings in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 428,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 88,713 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Assurant were worth $92,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Assurant by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assurant during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Assurant by 65.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Assurant by 360.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 92.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AIZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Assurant from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Assurant from $252.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Assurant from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Assurant from $255.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.17.

Assurant Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:AIZ opened at $219.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 0.58. Assurant, Inc. has a one year low of $174.97 and a one year high of $246.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.45.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $5.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.55 by $0.06. Assurant had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 6.81%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.79 EPS. Assurant’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.74%.

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.