17,857 Shares in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Assurant by 2.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Assurant by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Assurant by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 171,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,079,000 after acquiring an additional 24,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant during the fourth quarter worth $329,000. 92.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AIZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Assurant from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $212.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Assurant in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $604,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,568,162. This represents a 14.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Assurant Stock Performance

Shares of AIZ opened at $212.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.99. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55.

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.83. Assurant had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 17.25%. Research analysts expect that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Assurant’s payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

About Assurant

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.