Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) Shares Bought by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ) by 337.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,470 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Assurant were worth $2,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $92,460,000 after purchasing an additional 460,937 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assurant in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,430,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Assurant during the third quarter worth approximately $26,630,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Assurant by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 192,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,243,000 after purchasing an additional 62,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Assurant

In other news, EVP Biju Nair sold 3,000 shares of Assurant stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on AIZ shares. 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. Truist Financial raised their price target on Assurant from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Assurant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

Assurant Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIZ opened at $199.73 on Friday. Assurant, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.12 and a 52 week high of $230.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $210.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.68. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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 return on equity of 17.25% and a net margin of 6.40%. Research analysts predict that Assurant, Inc. will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Assurant Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. 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.