Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 14,771 Shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 57.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,771 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.08% of Assurant worth $8,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Assurant by 2.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Assurant by 4.4% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 159,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Assurant by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Assurant by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,079,000 after purchasing an additional 24,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter valued at about $329,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $204.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. Assurant, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.12 and a fifty-two week high of $230.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.88.

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

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Assurant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.11%.

Insider Activity at Assurant

In other Assurant news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,568,162. This trade represents a 14.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Assurant in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.